


Code Name Lunar Gift

by lovelunarchron



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Corporate, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cyber-Terrorism, F/M, Forbidden Romance, Hacking, Technology, Workplace AU, Workplace Relationship, cresswell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2018-08-07 09:04:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 93,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7709095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelunarchron/pseuds/lovelunarchron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When tech prodigy Cress Darnel is tasked with a secret project, she's told terrorists and foreign governments alike would do anything to get their hands on her work. But Cress is too distracted by the new corporate consultant to heed her boss's warnings. Carswell Thorne is sexy and charming, with stunning blue eyes that make her want to violate more than a few HR policies on inter-office dating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The first time Cress Darnel met Carswell Thorne, she choked on her vanilla bean frappuccino. She had just taken a big, unlady-like slurp of it, hoping to suck as much whipped cream into the straw as possible, when he rounded the corner ahead of her.

He was the hottest guy she had ever seen.

Wavy but trimmed brown hair, blue eyes that pierced her soul, and a physique that screamed _movie star, Greek god, swimsuit model_.

It was his smile that did it for her, though. Because as his eyes landed on Cress, his lips quirked into this perfect, slightly devious, sideways grin. If it were a scene out of a movie, time would have frozen for the two of them. His hair would have blown in imaginary wind, his tie would have swayed slightly in time with his confident stride, and his teeth would have sent a diamond-like flash at the camera.

But this was not a scene out of a movie, and Cress was in the process of inhaling her frappuccino, and the sight of him and his perfection in the midst of her workspace at 8:00 a.m. on a Monday caught her a little too off guard.

There was choking and spluttering as he passed her, but if he noticed, he didn't say anything. Cress was left alone in the hallway, desperately searching her purse for a tissue.

Trying to recover.

She reached her office a few minutes later, flustered and all too distracted with thoughts about who the new client was and who he had an appointment with.

Cress never met the clients. She was just the genius behind the technology that her company produced, of course, but it wasn't like the clients would ever give her the credit for it.

Not that getting credit from clients was important to Cress. She didn't enjoy being in the spotlight, and she certainly didn't enjoy meeting strangers who wanted to put her in the spotlight. Her boss paid her well and gave her bonus perks now and then, and that was enough for her.

This morning, though, she desperately wished that she could have a face-to-face with the client who had clearly stepped out of a magazine and into her life.

 _Stars._ Her mind was running away with her. She would never see him again. Even if she _could_ have a meeting with him, she would flub it up like she always did in front of cute guys by being her spectacular, stuttering self.

No matter. She could sit there for a few minutes and indulge her fantasies before she got started on the day's tasks. Then she would go home late, move on, and forget all about him.

She stopped in her tracks, then, when she went to her 10 a.m. weekly Monday meeting and spotted the Greek god sitting at the end of the long conference table. There were two other women sitting next to him who were also unfamiliar to Cress. Her boss, Jerry, sat next to one of the women, casually chatting her up and looking like he wanted to ask her to dinner.

Cress crept into the room, trying to make herself as small as possible and avoiding eye contact at all costs with any of the new clients. With about twenty employees present, it was not a hard feat. Everyone, even her boss, was too busy talking to have noticed her entry in the first place.

She took her usual seat next to Julian, who was a tech geek like her and had worked at the company for four of the five years that Cress had been employed there.

"Hi," she said, "how was Comic Con?" Cress turned her body away from the new clients and hoped that she looked very engaged in whatever Julian was about to say.

"Your blouse is unbuttoned just a little much, Cress," said Julian nonchalantly before launching into a detailed description of his Finn cosplay that weekend and the Poe he'd met and given his number to. They were soulmates, clearly.

Cress was too busy trying to fix the dang button which just _wouldn't_ stay put to pay attention to all the details, but knowing Julian, he would repeat the story more than once. Why had she worn this blouse of all blouses today?

"You should have come," said Julian, shaking his head at her.

"Had to finish up a project."

"You work too much."

Cress shrugged. "I like my job."

"You need a man, Cress. Then you'll realize that no one should like their job as much as you do."

Cress was about to roll her eyes at Julian, but he held up his hand to stop her and leaned close to whisper in her ear. "Speaking of men, the hot new guy just checked you out, Cress. I see potential there."

Julian's whisper was not quite low enough for Cress, and her face heated instantly, though she wasn't sure if it was at the thought of him checking her out or that Julian had basically announced to the entire room that he was checking her out. She pretended to busy herself with the tablet in front of her, like she was already taking notes during the meeting.

Surprisingly, the chatter in the room continued. Maybe Julian hadn't spoken as loud as she'd imagined. He certainly didn't care either way, and draped his arm around Cress. "Now the hot guy's staring at the two of us."

"Um—what hot guy?"

Julian laughed. "Don't try to deny it, honey. It's not often we get new employees, especially ones as gorgeous as him."

Cress bit her lip and tried to open up a window on her tablet. He was right though. Satellite Technologies was full of men, but not men like _him_.

Julian's finger tapped the shoulder he was holding on to. "If I pull you any closer, one of two things are going to happen."

Cress let out a frustrated breath. "And I'm sure you're going to tell me what those two things are."

"Either," he said, tapping her shoulder again, "I'm going to get cited for inappropriately touching a co-worker"—he chuckled at that, and Cress nearly did too—"or, that man is going to burst wondering if I'm your lover."

Cress squirmed out of his embrace, sure her face was the color of ripe tomatoes. "He is not. Now stop that."

But once she had focused on her tablet again, she dared sneak a glance up in the direction of the hot client. He wasn't looking at her at all, at the moment, but rather flirting with the other client next to him. Cress let out an audible sigh, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Ooh," said Julian, this time _actually_ whispering for once. "You've got it bad."

"Leave me alone, Julian. Can't you see I'm busy?"

He snorted. "Busy denying you wanna tap that."

"I—seriously—that's—"

"No shame in admitting it," said Julian, and when Cress glanced at him to her right, she saw him gazing longingly in the direction of the new guy. "I like him too."

"You have _Poe_."

"So you _do_ like him," said Julian slyly.

"I don't even know him! Just—just stop talking about him, Julian."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Julian bite the corner of his lip in triumph, but he stopped talking altogether and turned to the co-worker sitting on the other side of him. Cress kept her attention strictly on her tablet until her boss finally quieted the room.

"Good morning, everyone. As you may have noticed, we have some special guests with us today." He pointed next to him. "This is Emily Rancorn, Carswell Thorne, and Laaj Williams. They're from corporate, and they're here to help us with a new government contract we've just landed. Ms. Rancorn is an accountant, Mr. Thorne is a consultant, and Mrs. Williams is here for tech support."

A few mutters went around the room at his announcement, but Jerry held up his hand. "I expect all of you to welcome them as if they were part of the Satellite family. After all, we're a satellite of corporate." He laughed awkwardly, like he always did, and then cleared his throat when no one else appreciated his humor. "This is a big project and there are going to be a lot of late hours involved."

Groans resonated around the room, but Julian smiled wickedly at Cress before raising his hand. "Cress and I volunteer to show the newbies around."

Carswell Thorne leaned back casually in his chair and dragged his thumb across his lower lip.

"That won't be necessary," said Jerry. "They've already had a tour. But thank you, Julian and Cress. I'm sure you'll both have plenty more opportunities to welcome them properly."

"Oh yes," said Julian to Cress. "I can think of a few ways for you to welcome _Mr. Thorne_ properly."

"Julian!" said Cress scandalously, trying to keep her voice down as Jerry continued talking and pulled up some schematics on the screen behind him.

"Sorry," said Julian. "I can't help myself. But hey, let's find out a little more about our hot new co-worker. If he's actually checking _me_ out, well…I might have to let Poe down gently."

Cress stifled a giggle and returned her attention to Jerry and the screen.

Secretly, though, she hoped that Carswell Thorne really _had_ been checking her out. It was as unlikely as the fantasies she'd already entertained after first seeing him in the hallway, but the thought of him noticing her made a smile appear on her face nonetheless.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

"Great news," said Julian, breezing into her office without bothering to knock.

Cress kept her eyes glued on the screen in front of her. The new government project was more complicated than she had expected and the details were already giving her a headache.

"Carswell Thorne is 29, originally from Chicago, and _very_ single."

This made Cress look up from her screen with a frown. "How can someone be very single?"

Julian took a seat in front of her desk and leaned his elbows against a stack of papers she had arranged next to one of her monitors. "It means he is not currently in a relationship or dating anyone casually."

"How did you manage to figure this out in just the last ten minutes since our meeting concluded?"

"I have my methods."

Cress sat there trying to think of what to say. Her monitor beeped twice and she thankfully returned her attention to the program.

"You could say thank you," said Julian. "I did this for you, you know." Even with the way she had purposefully positioned herself slightly behind her monitor, she could still see the way he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," she said, trying to suppress a smile.

"No?"

"Nope."

"Then it probably wouldn't interest you to know that he said you were cute."

Cress's fingers, which were busy typing in commands, halted immediately. She stared in disbelief at Julian. "He did not!"

"No, you're right, he didn't," said Julian, now grinning, "but I knew that would get your attention."

Cress's face fell. "You're mean."

"A little, yeah. But it was worth it to know that you do have a crush on him."

"It's not a crush." She repeated the sentence several times in her mind before speaking again. "Yes, I find him attractive, but I don't know anything about him." When Julian raised his eyebrows she mumbled, "Besides that he's 29, originally from Chicago, and, um, very single."

"And guess who else is single? Our resident _female_ tech prodigy, Cress Darnel. What a strange coincidence! And since Carswell Thorne appears to be attracted to women, I say you jump on that before someone else snatches him up."

Though the idea of her snatching _anyone_ up was rather preposterous, Cress's mind trailed to the other women who worked at Satellite Technologies that would be at least somewhat age appropriate for Carswell Thorne.

There was Kate, who worked the front desk reception, Luisa in the marketing department, Blakely the tech intern—but she was possibly seeing Connor—Shan in the finance department, and Carina, the programmer who had just started working there three months ago. She supposed she should add Emily, the corporate account, to the list as well, since the two of them had exchanged a few glances throughout Jerry's long-winded presentation.

"Earth to Cress."

"Oh! Yes?"

Julian's grin was a little too big. "Are you thinking about your future children?"

"No!"

He got up, still grinning, and reached into his pocket. He handed her a small card that was red and sparkly. She turned it over in her hand.

ELECTRIC MIRAGE  
VIP PASS  
ADMIT 1

"Those are from your future baby daddy. Said he knows the owner or something. A bunch of us are going there tonight. So you owe me, honey, because that's Christopher's ticket in your hand." Julian put a hand on his hip. "As if he would ever go. Half the employees in this _company_ would never go."

Cress stared at the glittery writing. What would have happened if she had stayed behind after the meeting, instead of running back to her office as quickly as possible? Would she have shaken Carswell Thorne's hand?

She needed to stop calling him Carswell Thorne.

"The Electric Mirage?" she asked Julian. "Is that the lounge-bar place in the Gaslamp district where they have those special DJs?"

Julian shook his head. " _Special DJs_? Lounge-bar _place_? I should take back your ticket just because you said that. It's only the coolest place to be, and people like me and you can only dream of getting a VIP pass there."

Cress closed her fist around the card and grimaced. Julian was one of her only colleagues with an active social life. She was constantly surprised that he still invited her to tag along from time to time, though she had turned him down more often than she could count. "It's—it's like you say. We can only dream of going there."

"And now the dream is a reality, honey. So we are going to go out, get dressed up, and flirt our asses off with Carswell Thorne."

Cress let a small smile slip onto her face. "Stop calling him Carswell Thorne."

"Do you prefer Mr. Thorne, or the more intimate _Carswell_?"

"Go away."

Julian waggled his eyebrows again, then stalked toward the door. As he left, he called behind him, "Jerry wants to see you in his office, by the way."

Sighing, Cress got up and straightened her skirt. She stuffed the small VIP card in her purse so she wouldn't think about it for the rest of the day, then fished around for her brush. Her hair was long and usually swept up in a bun to be professional, but after chewing her bottom lip a few times, she undid her hair binder and let her blonde locks fall past her shoulders. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually brushed her hair at work, but there had never been anyone to impress, either.

That was all she wanted, she told herself, as she ran the comb through the knots in her hair. She had made a terrible impression this morning when he'd walked by her in the hallway, and she simply wanted to make up for it.

She was Satellite Technologies' prodigy, as Julian had rightly reminded her.

Prodigies were supposed to be impressive.

She double-checked the button on her blouse to make sure that it had not popped open again, and then looked down at her outfit. She untucked her blouse. Then tucked it in again.

What was she _doing_?

Berating herself internally, she left her office and made her way to Jerry's office. Somewhat to her dismay and relief, she did not pass the Greek god directly, though she spotted him chatting up Carina over in the cubicles designated for new employees. She tried to glide mysteriously as she passed by the general area, but doubted that anyone noticed her. No one except Julian ever noticed her unless they needed help with something.

Jerry was waiting impatiently in his office when she arrived, his fingers keeping time with the clock on his wall. He was sweaty and red-faced, but that was normal for Jerry.

"Cress! Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing in front of his desk. "And shut the door behind you." Cress did as she was told and tried to keep from looking directly at Jerry's nose, which had developed a large bead of sweat. He folded his hands on the desk in front of him. "How are you, Cress?"

"Fine, how are you?" she said automatically.

"Let's cut the chitchat. I've got something special for you to work on. Something big." He leaned forward so much that Cress worried that the bead of sweat would slide off the front of his nose and drip onto the desk.

"Something other than the new contract? Because I've already opened it and taken a look at some of the specs."

"This is why you're my top employee, Cress," said Jerry, finally taking his sleeve and wiping it across his nose. "Everyone else was mingling outside the conference room with the employees from corporate while you got to work."

Cress knew that coming from Jerry it was a big compliment, but after talking to Julian she wasn't sure she wanted to be the top employee in this situation.

"That," Jerry continued, "and you're the best we've got. I don't know what I would do if that talent scout hadn't found you."

"Thank you."

"So I'm going to need your 100% game right now. Because what I'm about to tell you could define your career, Cress. First, though, I need you to sign a new confidentiality agreement."

As Cress's brow furrowed, Jerry slid the document that he had been leaning on across the desk. She glanced at it.

All Satellite Technologies employees received specific security clearances from the government upon joining the company due to the many government contracts they took on each year. She was used to working on confidential projects for other clients too, especially with the competitive cyber market.

This document was stamped with TOP SECRET in the top, right-hand corner.

She signed it quickly; of course she would keep a work project confidential.

Jerry reached into one of his desk drawers and revealed a folder which was not unlike the Electric Mirage VIP Pass in the sense that it, too, glittered. It was purple with a shimmering half-moon on it.

"The project I detailed in the conference room is only a part of what the government has contracted us to do for them. It initially went to corporate because it regards national security, but upon hearing of the successes of one Cress Darnel"—he gestured at Cress, who sat up straighter in her chair—"they decided to outsource it to us. Two of the employees you met today are actually here to make sure that this part of the job gets done correctly and, as I already said, to help out with the extra workload it will create."

Another bead of sweat appeared on his nose. Even for Jerry, it was excessive.

"National security?" said Cress, still waiting for the catch.

"Indeed." Jerry pointed at the folder. "You're going to test a new type of surveillance software."

Cress, who had been leaning forward in anticipation, deflated a little. "That's it?"

Jerry harrumphed. "This is a massive project that the government has worked on for years. It will change the way that terrorist cells are located and targeted. In fact, in a manner of speaking, the surveillance software works a bit like legal hacking."

"Huh."

"Now, from what they've told me, they're having problems with the functionality of the program, so you're going to come at it from all angles, break it down, re-program where necessary, and make it work. There's a big bonus in this for you, Cress, if you can get it to run smoothly. And for Satellite Technologies it means a permanent contract with the government. Sound good?"

Cress nodded absentmindedly as her eyes trailed over the glittering folder again. She wanted to ask why there was a moon on the folder, but figured she would get more answers by actually diving into the code instead.

Jerry cleared his throat. "There's something else, though, Cress, which is important for you to know before you get started. First, the rest of the company is not to know that you're working on this. To everyone else, you're working on the security system revamp as well. The only other people you may discuss this project with are me, Mrs. Williams, and Mr. Thorne. Understood?"

Cress nodded again, but she felt slightly conflicted. On one hand, she was entirely thrilled to know that she was allowed to discuss top secret projects with the hottest employee at Satellite Technologies—whom she had yet to meet officially. On the other hand, she was nervous about not being able to tell Julian that this was the case. Maybe working with Carswell Thorne would be a nightmare.

Or a dream.

"Second," Jerry continued, "and this is very important, Cress…" He wiped the sweat away again, this time on his forehead. "As the scope of this project involves national security, I need you to understand that if someone were to find out that you were working on this project, it could put you in grave danger."

"I would never tell anyone—"

"I'm not doubting your ability to keep a secret. You're my top employee, remember?" He chuckled, but then his face turned serious. "Think of who would want to get their hands on this type of program, Cress. Terrorists. Criminals. Spies. Foreign governments. _China_."

If Jerry hadn't said it in such a serious tone, Cress would have thought he was telling the punchline of a joke.

She stood up and made to reach for the folder, but Jerry put his hand over hers to stop her. "If you see anything suspicious, please let me know immediately."

Cress pulled the folder and her hand out from under him. "I understand. I'll be careful."

"Good."

Clutching the glittery folder to her chest so that only the blank side faced outward, Cress practically skipped back to her office. She was the lead on a classified project. She was working on something that could protect the country. She was going to get a major bonus.

* * *

It was only when Julian texted her to ask where she was at 9:00 p.m. that Cress realized she had worked through dinner and completely forgotten about the Electric Mirage.

She couldn't show up now, with her work clothes and bloodshot eyes and her mind spinning from all the coding she'd done. That was no way to make an impression, unless that impression was frumpy, crazed workaholic.

Her phone vibrated on her desk again, this time with a slanted, blurry picture of Carswell Thorne taking a sip of his drink. After staring at it a little too long and then trying to enhance the image, Cress deleted the picture.

She hoped Julian was having the time of his life. As for her, she would enjoy another one of the many pre-made microwave dinners she kept in her work fridge for these types of occasions.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Cress arrived late to work for the first time in probably two years. It wasn't like she hadn't clocked an insane amount of overtime and could technically take weeks off without getting docked any pay, but she didn't like to take advantage of that fact. She enjoyed her work and wanted to be a model employee.

Today, though, she wished that instead of being a model employee, she could just be a model. Because that was what the woman looked like who was dancing with Carswell Thorne in the multiple pictures that Julian had sent her while she was sleeping.

Not that she was jealous. Carswell Thorne could obviously dance with whoever he wanted.

It was the one written text that Julian had sent her that had made her hit the snooze button: _This could've been you. Sorry, honey._

He was wrong, of course. Even if Julian was pushy and overstepping his bounds as her colleague and friend to even insinuate such a thing…there was no way that the Greek god would have chosen to dance with her, Cress Darnel, over that model.

Cress was good at pretending, though.

Good at pretending like she didn't care if she had missed out on the opportunity to see how the night might have played out if she had gone to the Electric Mirage instead of acted like her usual, workaholic self.

And currently, she was good at pretending that she was actually a model and had two hours to primp and get ready before breezing into work. If she was going to show up late to work after spending the night being a workaholic, well, she might as well look her best doing so. She hadn't watched all those YouTube makeup tutorials for nothing.

It was her hair that did her proud, though. Long gone was the frumpy bun from yesterday. Cress had spent an hour straightening her hair until it was silky and glossy like in the movies.

She was not intimidated by Carswell Thorne's freakishly good looks. If there was going to be a Greek god inhabiting her office, then there might as well also be a mysteriously beautiful, fae-like creature with perfect hair to boot.

No, she was not intimidated at all.

Her confidence at an all-time high for once in her life, Cress stepped into her private office with a smile on her face.

She halted in the doorway when she saw Carswell Thorne standing there.

Leaning against her desk.

Grinning at her.

Cress stopped walking abruptly, nearly tripping over her own feet. By some miracle, she managed to maintain her composure.

Her breathing was another thing, since her heart seemed to be malfunctioning like the program she'd worked on all night.

 _Stars._ He really was the hottest guy she'd ever seen.

"Cress Darnel?" he said, pushing off of her desk and beginning to walk towards her.

Her mind was malfunctioning too, and all she could think was: _Alert. Alert. Alert. This is not a drill._ Then: _Breathe. Breathe. Breathe._

_Breathe, Cress._

"Y-yes?" she squeaked, then put a hand over mouth in panic. That was _not_ her first word to Carswell Thorne. That was not—

He was right in front of her now. Still grinning. Extending his hand. "I'm Carswell Thorne."

Cress stepped forward too, raising her own hand to greet him like a normal human being, not a stuttering, star-struck fool. But she moved a little too hastily on the lace-up heels she'd worn today because she was a 'model.' Her hand grasped Carswell Thorne's, but her ankles wobbled as they went in the opposite direction of her heels, and suddenly she was losing her footing entirely.

She cried out as his grip on her hand tightened. Her body slammed into his. Her arm practically dislocated itself from her shoulder. They both tumbled to the ground.

Then she was lying on top of Carswell Thorne, her hand still clutching his, her face smushed against his chest.

His chest, which was shaking with laughter.

"Aces!" Cress gasped. "I'm so sorry!" She let go of his hand immediately and pushed against the floor to raise herself off of him. She let out a cry of pain as her hair yanked her back down. This time she hit the back of her head somewhere along his ribcage, and he, too, grunted with discomfort.

Cress tried to slowly pull away just her head, but found that she could not move more than a foot away from him.

"I'm stuck," she said, unable to hide her panic.

"Wait, wait," he said, putting a hand lightly on her back. Despite her utter embarrassment, it sent a tingle down her entire spine. "Allow me." He sat up in one movement, keeping her pressed to him with his hand. Then, he laughed again. "Don't move."

Cress's heart tripped. He didn't want her to move? He wanted her to…stay this close to him?

"We seem to be in a bit of a predicament." He let go of her back and leaned away from her ever so slightly, lowering his head so his face was only inches away from hers. He met her eyes for a second, then looked away sheepishly. "I think your hair is stuck in my fly."

Cress's eyes widened. "W-what?"

He cleared his throat and didn't meet her eyes. "I think that when we fell, everything got a little…tangled."

"How is that possible? Is your fly _open_?" As soon as she'd said it, she wanted to die of mortification. It was definitely not an appropriate thing to ask someone, especially in the accusatory tone she'd just used.

Carswell Thorne laughed, somewhat awkwardly. "I didn't mean, like, _inside_ my fly. It looks like it's tangled around the zipper."

Cress didn't know what to say. "Oh."

"You have really long hair. Does it get tangled in things often?"

"I—no."

He shook his head with a laugh, then finally looked at her straight on with those stunning, blue eyes. Her heart tripped again. "Somehow I imagined we'd at least have a few drinks before we got to this stage of our relationship." When she squeaked again, his eyes twinkled with mischief. "Sorry. Was that inappropriate? It's hard not to make a joke at a dire time like this."

"Y-yes," she managed to say, though found herself unbelievably flustered. Was he _flirting_ with her? No, he was just joking. Awkwardly joking. "That _is_ , um, inappropriate."

He smirked. "I guess I shouldn't have skipped all those memos on inter-office dating, huh?" He winked at her, then, and she melted. "Here, lean this way a bit," he continued, nudging her to the left with one of his hands. "I'll untangle us in a sec."

"Thanks," she said. "And sorry again. I—I think my shoe broke," she lied.

"No problem. We can always cut your hair if it doesn't come loose."

Cress vowed right then and there that she would never wear her hair down ever again.

"You're breathing really hard," he said, doing stars-knows-what with her hair while she looked beyond him at her desk, wishing she could crawl underneath it. Her imaginary, fae-like model-self had completely disappeared. That was one fantasy she would certainly never entertain again. She was not worthy of it. "I was just kidding about cutting your hair."

She closed her eyes and dared her breathing to even out. It was hard, when she was almost sitting on the lap of the Greek god with her hair stuck in his zipper. "I know," she said. She hoped her voice sounded more calm and composed than it had since she'd first spotted him in her office.

"Oh!" said a loud, familiar voice, and Cress put her face in her hands. "What's uh—what's going on in here?"

"Julian," said Carswell Thorne smoothly, and Cress thought she heard a smile in his voice. "Didn't think you'd make it into work today."

Julian laughed. "Me neither. You are my hero, Thorne. He-ro."

Cress couldn't believe that Julian already knew him well enough to call him by his last name only. Meanwhile she was going to go down in the history books as the clumsiest girl that he had ever met.

"I'm glad I could put those VIP passes to good use."

"If you ever have more," said Julian, "please let me know immediately."

"Will do."

"So…what are you and Cress doing, exactly?"

Carswell Thorne chuckled. "Just getting to know each other a little better, since we missed that opportunity last night."

Though she was still dying of embarrassment, a small part of her swelled with a hidden emotion. He had noticed that she hadn't shown up at the Electric Mirage yesterday? That was a…a _good_ thing.

It didn't matter. All good things were ruined now.

"I'll say," said Julian. "Is that her… _hair_?"

"Yes, Julian," said Cress testily. "My hair is stuck in his zipper. It's an honest mistake and—"

"—and I've got it now," Carswell Thorne interrupted her. " _There_." Cress felt her hair lift and fall against her back.

She sighed with relief and got to her feet as quickly as possible, holding on to the desk for support so that she didn't repeat her earlier performance. When she had righted herself and straightened out her skirt, she moseyed over to her chair, never letting go of the edge of her desk. Once she had taken a seat in her chair, she felt immeasurably better. From behind her desk, she was in charge of her destiny.

Carswell Thorne had gotten up off the floor too, and for the first time, with his back turned to her, Cress had the chance to actually check him out. He stood out from Julian and the rest of the guys she worked with because he hadn't succumbed to the casual dress code of their branch of Satellite Technologies yet. She immediately liked this about him, as she often dressed more formally than some of her colleagues. Nothing about sitting behind a computer required professional clothing, but she was twenty-five and coming to work in jeans somehow just didn't feel right.

Today, he donned dark blue slacks, a white button down shirt, and a tie. And _stars_ , did he wear it well.

"I'll leave the two of to your spiel, then," said Julian, who decided that was the perfect time to throw a very obvious wink at Cress. She glared at him.

"I'll catch you later," said Carswell Thorne.

And just like that, they were alone.

And just like that, he was walking towards her again, not exactly grinning this time, but with his lips curved into a sideways, dimpled smile nonetheless. She turned on her computer and wished it would load quicker.

"Let's try that again," he said, taking a seat in the chair where Julian had sat just yesterday, asking her whether she was fantasizing about their 'future children.' Cress blushed at the thought. "I'm Carswell Thorne. But most people call me Thorne." He reached out his hand again and Cress shook it.

"Hi Carswell Thorne. I mean—Thorne. I'm Cress Darnel. It's nice to meet you."

He chuckled and leaned back in the chair. "That's a little more how I imagined this going the first time."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, biting her lip. Her computer beeped and she thanked the stars silently for the ability to break eye contact and type in her log-in password.

"I'm sure you're really busy," he continued, "so I won't keep you long. I only thought it would be a good idea for me to meet the hotshot programmer I've heard all about."

Cress's head snapped up from her screen. "You've heard about me?"

"Satellite Technologies' own prodigy? 'Course I have. Jerry absolutely adores you."

"Oh." She tried to absorb this with humility, but felt a sting of pride. Then she imagined him seeing her official work ID picture and deflated. "I'm—I'm sorry, I hadn't heard about you before yesterday."

"Well, I'm not surprised. I'm not a prodigy." He winked at her, but when she didn't say anything, he continued, "I'm only here because they pay me the big bucks."

She nodded.

"And since my bonus depends on how well this project turns out, you're my top girl right now." He gave her a heart-stopping grin. "My apologies. Top woman."

She nodded again, trying to process the idea of being his top _anything_.

"Corporate is sparing no expense, so anything you need for this project, Cress, I'm your guy."

Cress pinched her thigh underneath the desk. "Thank you. I think I've gotten off to a good start."

"Yes, Julian was telling me you spent the whole night working."

She blushed. "Yes, well, there were a lot of initial details to absorb. I tend to space out a bit and forget the time when I'm working."

"My motto is work hard, play hard, Cress. You gotta make room for play. Maybe I can help with that."

"E-excuse me?"

He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and rested his chin on his fists. "I've been involved in this project for the last year. I've seen how easy it is to get burned out. Especially those of you who spend all day in front of a screen. I'm going to make it my personal mission that you don't get burned out."

"I'm fine. I can handle this project."

"Of course," he said, tilting his head to the side. "You're _Cress Darnel_. I am putting all my faith in your skills."

She swallowed.

"But Julian told me how much you work. So if you ever get stressed, don't hesitate to give me a call." He reached into his pocket and dropped a business card on the table. "Stress isn't part of my vocabulary. I'll help you figure out a way to relax. Work hard, play hard, remember?"

Cress glanced down at the business card, but she was actually imagining herself lying on a massage table with him standing behind her. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and he was getting ready to work on her shoulders. She pinched her thigh again. "Right."

He got up. "Well, I just wanted to introduce myself, seeing as we'll be spending a lot of time together." He reached out to shake her hand again. "It was really great to meet you, Cress."

The last few minutes in her office replayed in her mind when her hand connected with his again. Her initial meeting with Carswell Thorne— _Thorne_ —had been a disaster. Julian was going to make fun of her for days. And he was probably going to tell the entire workplace what had happened, if he hadn't already.

She let go of his hand quickly. "It was nice to meet you too, Thorne."

He began to leave, then turned around with a grin. "Do you like chocolate, Cress?"

"Um—yes." _Stars_ , could she say anything without stuttering around him?

"Me too. I've got a bunch of those Lindt chocolate balls in my new office, in case you're ever hungry. "

"Thank you."

"It's not really an office. It's just a cubicle over by the interns. But Jerry is working on getting me a different space. If they want me working on a top secret project, I'm going to need some privacy."

"Okay."

He paused and looked like he wanted to say something, but then seemed to decide against it. "I'll see you around, Cress."

Cress watched his back as he left her office, and waited until he had turned the corner in the hallway. Then she let her head fall face first on the desk.

Carswell Thorne was going to be the death of her.


	4. Chapter 4

For the next several days, Cress saw Thorne every morning. No matter what time she arrived, he always managed to arrive after her. He would give three quick rasps on her door before popping his head in, smiling warmly, and saying, "Morning, Cress." Then he would proceed back down the hallway just as quickly.

By Friday, she was starting to get used to this routine, and managed not to get startled. She even gave him a small smile. "Good morning, Thorne."

Seeming surprised and encouraged by her response today, Thorne swung back into the room. "It _is_ a good morning, isn't it? Friday mornings are always my favorite mornings of the week."

She sucked in a breath. It was time to end her inability to speak around him. "I agree."

"Got any big plans this weekend?"

Cress shrugged. "I'll be working, probably." She did not add that after working she would be crawling into bed in her pajamas and binge-watching reruns of the OC while downing rocky road ice cream.

Thorne raised an eyebrow at her. "You're working all weekend?" He shook his head, but his smile turned teasing. "I should have guessed. You haven't even stopped by for a chocolate break."

Cress bit her lip. She had thought several times about going to his cubicle to get some chocolate, but she couldn't think of any reason to go over there. She was progressing on the project fine on her own. She was terrible at small talk too. Especially when it was small talk with an insanely hot guy.

Julian had filled her in on all of the office gossip that had taken place that week. There had been a lot of it, since it was not normal to have three newcomers in one week. According to Julian, almost all of the women _and_ men who worked at Satellite Technologies had stopped by Thorne's cubicle for chocolates.

Everyone except for her. Julian had pointed this out on numerous occasions.

"I've been busy." Wanting to change the subject, she added quickly, "Do _you_ have any big plans this weekend?"

"I'm checking out the sights a bit. Then I've got a date on Saturday."

"That's nice that you have a girlfriend," she said, though her heart sank a little. It was ridiculous. She barely knew him and didn't have any right to be jealous. Of course Julian had been wrong about his "single" status. Why would someone who looked like Carswell Thorne be single?

Thorne adjusted the tie around his neck. "No girlfriend. Just a date."

"Oh. In that case, good luck."

He chuckled. "Good luck? Do you think I'll need it?"

She blushed and looked down at her desk. "No."

"That didn't sound like the strongest vote of confidence."

Cress didn't dare meet his eyes. There was no way she could tell him that by saying no she had actually meant that she thought he was cute and totally capable of wooing his date. That was an embarrassing thing to say and she would never be able to get through it.

"I'm sorry," she said, pointing to her screen, "but I've got a lot to work to get started on."

"Oh, sure," he said, but Cress didn't look up to see his expression. She was too mortified. He left her room without another word.

* * *

"Cress, hi!"

Cress jumped, startled to find Ryan waiting for her by the water fountain as she exited the women's bathroom. She had managed to go almost three full days without bumping into him. Looking down at the floor, Cress gave him a tightlipped smile and continued down the hallway. "Hi Ryan."

He followed after her quickly, like he always did. "How's your week going, Cress?"

"Fine, how's your week?" she said, speeding up. She only had a few more paces until she reached her office.

Ryan made it to her office quicker though, and stood in the door frame, blocking the entrance to her office with his excited stature. Cress stopped abruptly so she didn't _literally_ bump into him.

"I haven't seen you around the office much this week," he said.

"I've been busy with the new project," she said, taking a step to the right.

He matched her step. "Surely not so busy that you can't stop by to say hi."

Cress's mind churned like one of her computer programs, calculating exactly how she could get out of this conversation and simultaneously not hurt his feelings. She always forgot about Ryan when she considered just how inconsequential her presence was at Satellite Technologies. If there was anyone who noticed her besides Julian, it was Ryan. In fact, Ryan noticed her just a little too much at times.

He told her that he admired her work and that Cress inspired him. Julian said that he actually admired _her_ , and that she inspired him to stalk her.

Ryan was really nice, albeit clingy, and lately he had been popping up a little too much for her liking. He seemed to know too many details about her and her life, often making her wonder if Julian might be right.

"Actually," said Cress, "it is taking up all of my time." She took another step to the left, but when Ryan blocked her from going into her office again, she decided to keep walking. She hurried along the hallway with Ryan at her heels.

"I was thinking maybe we could get lunch," said Ryan. "Catch up."

Get lunch? Cress's heart rate increased, but not in the same way it did around Carswell Thorne. What had suddenly made Ryan bolder? And where was Julian when she needed him? She passed his cubicle with annoyance when she saw that he was not sitting at his desk. Of course he wasn't. Did anyone besides her even do any work at this company?

The thought of Carswell Thorne gave her another idea, one which was almost as terrifying as going to lunch with Ryan.

"Actually," she said again, slightly breathless from rushing through the office, "I already have lunch plans."

"With who?" said Ryan. "You never go to lunch. I see you everyday sitting at your desk with your salads. You like to pick out the tomatoes and put them on the side of your plate. We can go to a place that doesn't even have tomatoes on the menu. So I'm guessing pizza is out, unless you're one of those chicks that likes tomato sauce, not just tomatoes. I know a place that's only one block away."

Cress did like pizza, but she wasn't about to tell Ryan that. Maybe it would be easier for him to believe that she was a freak who only ate tomato-less salads and never anything else. Maybe then he wouldn't be asking her to lunch. Maybe then she'd have the courage to turn him down properly.

"Listen, Ryan," she said, fumbling for the right words, "I do already have lunch plans, like I said. They're with—"

She stopped abruptly in front of the right cubicle. Thorne looked up at her from his desk. He was eating an apple.

"—Carswell Thorne!"

"Yes?" he said, chewing slowly and looking between Cress and Ryan.

"Remember how you gave me that card?" said Cress, the words tumbling out of her like a waterfall. "And we were talking about relaxing?" She tried to plead with him to understand with her eyes, but he continued staring up at her as he chewed. "Well, I was just telling Ryan that I can't go to lunch with him because I've already made plans with you. You know, to eat and discuss that card."

Thorne, looking amused, glanced from Cress to Ryan and then back at Cress again. He rocked back in his chair. "Sorry, Ryan. Afraid this is a pretty important meeting."

Ryan, looking crestfallen, stuffed his hands in his pockets. Then, he brightened. "No problem. Now that I know you actually leave your office, we can go to lunch some other time."

"Oh...yeah," said Cress lamely, realizing that she had just set herself up.

"Bye Cress!" he said cheerily, and turned on his heels.

Cress looked up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. Then, remembering where she was, she cringed at Thorne. "Sorry and thanks."

Thorne launched his apple at the wastebasket, waited expectantly, and then raised his hands in the air when it landed inside. "Nothing but net!" He swiveled in his chair and pointed at the empty one across from his desk. "Have a seat."

Cress reluctantly sat down, keeping her eyes on the gigantic pile of chocolates sitting at the righthand corner of his desk. Her mouth watered, and she reached out for a truffle. She decided on an orange-colored one, reading that it was peanut butter filled, and closed her eyes as it melted in her mouth.

Thorne watched her curiously. "That guy bothering you?"

"That's just Ryan," she said with her mouth full. "I think he likes me." She reached for another truffle.

"And that's a bad thing?"

"He just…makes me uncomfortable."

"Well, feel free to run to my desk and pretend we're having lunch anytime. Unless, of course, you actually do want to have lunch with me. Are you up for some Chinese?"

Cress shoved the truffle in her mouth and took her time savoring the peanut butter chocolate taste before answering. It also gave her time to think about how to answer, because this could be the only time one Carswell Thorne would ask her to lunch. No, she reminded herself, he was simply being polite. She had barged in on him without notice, and he was such a gentleman that he would spend his free time with her anyway.

"Thank you," she said, after swallowing. "For the chocolate and the invitation. I already ordered my salad, though."

He nodded. "Did you bring your dinner?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You said you were working all weekend. Did you already bring dinner with you, or were you planning on ordering in?"

"Oh—I—I have a fridge in my office. I tend to stay late a lot, so I like to have something on hand."

"I think I'm going to work at least an hour or two late today as well. If I get a lot done tonight, then I can enjoy my weekend without the stress of being swamped on Monday."

"Right. That's a good idea. You have your date and all."

He scratched at the corner of his lip with his thumb. "There are a couple things that I want to go over with you regarding the government project. I have to send a report back to Corporate each week to let them know how things are going. Is it okay if I stop by later today? I don't want to interrupt your work."

"T-today? I'm—I'm not sure I have that much to report yet."

"That's okay. It's more some questions that I need answered. If you don't have the answers yet, then I just won't check off those boxes yet."

"Okay," she said, shrugging. "You can stop by whenever."

"Perfect. I'll bring the Chinese."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You don't have to eat any, of course," he said. "I just don't want to start my Friday night on an empty stomach. I'm pretty sure there won't be any tomatoes, though."

She cringed. "You heard that?"

He laughed, his eyes twinkling. "These cubicles aren't exactly soundproof walls, Cress. Do you want me to walk you to your office so that Ryan doesn't think our meeting is already over?"

"That...would be very nice. Um, thank you."

"Would you like to grab a handful of truffles before we go? I don't think I've seen anyone devour them as quickly as you did."

Cress blushed and shook her head.

"After you, then," said Thorne, standing and gesturing down the hallway.

Cress scrambled out of her chair and hurried back to her office. Thorne kept in stride with her easily. When they passed Julian's cubicle, he gave the two of them a huge thumbs up. Cress tried to send him death glares with her eyes.

Thorne stopped in front of her doorway and did not go into her office with her. "Thanks for the surprise visit. I'll see you tonight."

"Thanks again, Thorne," she said, but he was already walking back down the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

Usually, it was easy for Cress to get caught up in her work and forget time.

Not today.

Not when she knew that at any given moment, Thorne could walk through the door.

Furthermore, the wall of see-through glass that separated her personal office from the hallway was also beginning to make Cress feel self-conscious. Until the newcomers from Corporate had shown up, she had appreciated the layout on her floor. Programming was often lonely work. Seeing other employees walk by throughout the day kept her from feeling completely isolated.

Now she felt as though she were inside a fishbowl.

When Julian had stopped by to get the scoop on Thorne accompanying Cress to her office earlier that morning, he had reminded her that she tended to let her mouth hang open when she was concentrating really hard. More worrisome, he said, was that Cress would randomly begin singing to herself when she got absorbed in a project.

"Are you ready for him to hear your singing voice?" he'd asked. "It's good but it gives off a bit of a space cadet impression if you're not used to it."

For the rest of the afternoon, Cress had worked her jaw whenever she noticed her lips parting even _slightly_. She hoped that if Thorne entered her office she would snap out of whatever "space cadet" trance she was in the middle of, but if he merely walked by and saw her looking like she was drooling in front of a screen? The thought had not occurred to her before Julian had pointed it out. What if she had looked that way every day this week when he'd stuck his head into her office and wished her a good morning?

She did spend a lot of time in the bathroom that afternoon making sure that her appearance was okay. There were signs of a growing pimple on her chin, and her make-up simply wasn't doing the trick. She fixed her hair in her signature bun, lest any tresses get caught in inappropriate places again. After studying herself, she finally decided to pull some strands out in front of her face to soften her features. Maybe she could make sure that her head was always turned slightly to the right so that he wouldn't see the pimple.

All of her worries were for nothing, though, and she wanted to yell at Julian for making her lose a half day's work. Thorne never walked by her office (though Ryan did—he stopped and made funny faces at her through the glass). Five o'clock came and went, so did six o'clock.

Everyone—even Jerry—exited the building. But Thorne didn't stop by.

 _Dinner_ , Cress reminded herself. _He said he would bring dinner._

Cress was playing a game on her computer when saw Thorne through the glass at nearly 7:00 P.M. She closed it abruptly, sat up straighter, and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. She prepared a welcoming smile.

Thorne kept on going though, not acknowledging her as he passed her door and continued on to the point in the glass where she could no longer see further down the hallway.

Slumping in her chair, she let out a long breath. Was he standing her up?

 _No. This was not getting stood up. They didn't even have plans. He just said he would stop by_ sometime _today._

_No. He specifically said, "See you tonight." With Chinese food._ _  
_

Her back began to ache from hunching over, so she got up out of her chair. With all of the excitement of Thorne requesting a private meeting with her, she had forgotten to do her daily stretches. Sitting in front of a computer all day for years had done work on her body, and it was only recently that she had taken up yoga.

She tiptoed to the glass and peered down the hallway in both directions.

Nothing.

Hesitantly, she began her daily routine of poses. First, the sun salutation. Instead of concentrating on her breathing patterns, though, she found her mind drifting once again to the fantasy that had taken over her thoughts since she'd officially met Thorne on Tuesday.

Long gone was the image of Thorne as a shirtless masseuse. The fantasy had developed into the two of them lying on the beaches of Fiji, sipping on cocktails with little paper umbrellas inside the glasses, and taking breaks from tanning to make out passionately in the ocean.

It was so, so bad.

The only good thing about her fantasies was that she knew they would never come true. He was still a Greek god. Greek gods remained in fantasies. They would never date a mere mortal such as herself.

Keeping Carswell Thorne in Greek god status kept her grounded.

He was intangible, a figment of her run-away imagination.

Cress moved into warrior pose, pushing all of her energy out of her wandering, inappropriate mind and into balancing as she bent her right knee over her right foot.

_Now, reach up strongly through your arms, broaden across your belly, lengthen the sides of your waist._

Cress never knew if she was actually lengthening anything when she performed the stretch. It was fun to pretend that something could make her 5'0" stature grow taller.

_Lift through your chest. Extend your arms and tilt, tilt…_

"Reminds me of a swan. Is that the swan pose?"

Cress nearly lost her balance.

Thorne strode into the room with a white plastic bag in one hand, a briefcase in the other, and a dreamy grin on his face. As Cress straightened out of the pose, one of the strings between fantasy and reality began to fray. He was _here_. He hadn't stood her up. He had seen her do _yoga_.

And he was stowing his briefcase on her sofa as if he lived there. "The delivery guy said they don't go into buildings that have more than two floors. So I had to walk down the block to get this." He sat down on the couch and started pulling cartons out of the plastic bag. "Is that normal for San Diego? And what's the difference between taking an elevator up two floors versus going up to the twenty-first?"

Cress blinked a few times. He was being so casual with her, talking to her like she was a freind. There was no desk separating them again, as she had imagined. She could retreat to her desk while he ate, but that might seem rude now that she was already standing. The invisible boundary of Greek god and mortal was crumbling before her eyes. It was terrifying to acknowledge that though she had waited all afternoon for him to show up, she might actually have to make conversation with Carswell Thorne for the entire time he ate.

"Was it a small business?" she asked. Maybe it took too much time for them to go up skyscrapers, she thought of adding, but worried it might sound silly. She ordered her salads from the cafeteria on the second floor of the same building.

"Eh?" he said. He emptied the remaining contents of the bag onto the table: two sets of chopsticks, napkins, a few little pouches of sauce. "We need _plates_ ," he muttered, snapping his fingers. "Unless you don't want any? That's right, you didn't want to eat, huh."

He finally glanced back up at her, a question written over his face, and Cress realized that his comment hadn't been rhetorical. The aroma wafting out of the boxes was making her mouth water.

"I'd love some," she said, trying to let some of the tension in her shoulders drop.

His eyes lit up. "Great! Though I still need to find some plates."

"I've got one." Cress pointed at her fridge, on top of which sat the single bowl she used to reheat whatever leftovers she kept in the mini freezer in case she stayed late.

"Do you mind if I eat out of the carton, then?" he asked sheepishly. "I usually have better manners."

She shook her head, grabbed her bowl, and hesitantly made her way to the couch, which only had room for two. She rarely sat in it. It was more for decoration, to show people that she was high enough on the food chain to _deserve_ a couch. She had taken a nap in it on the rare occasion that she pulled an all-nighter, but with the glass walls she'd always felt too exposed to sleep for long.

Thorne held up the cartons for her while she scooped some szechuan chicken, a vegetable stir fry, and white rice into her bowl. She helped herself to a spring roll too. Thorne took the carton with the szechuan chicken and began eating out of it. She supposed that was an easy way for him to tell her that she wasn't having seconds.

"Thank you," she said anyway, before taking a bite out of her spring roll.

He shrugged. "Work is no fun on an empty stomach."

She watched him expertly grab at pieces of chicken with his chopsticks, then remembered that she was supposed to be eating, not watching. Using chopsticks, however, was not a skill she had mastered to the level she desired. As she attempted to eat some rice, she caught _Thorne_ watching her and blushed.

"Here," he said, setting down his carton. He clicked his chopsticks together in one hand and used the other to try to re-position her fingers. He might as well have reached out and stroked her face like a lover, for the amount of sensation that shot through her at his touch.

She swallowed hard and tried to remember to breath. "I-I think I'll use my spoon."

When she reached her fridge again and her back was to him, Cress tried to recollect her thoughts. _You rehearsed this, Cress. You purposely rehearsed so you_ wouldn' _t be awkward._

"So, um, Thorne," she said as she walked back to the couch, "what does a consultant do anyway? What do you—um, consult?"

Thorne chewed on his spring roll thoughtfully before answering. "That's a good question. Mostly I troubleshoot. Corporate sends me to different branch locations or even directly to clients to make sure that the process is streamlined. If there's a problem with a project, it's my job to find a solution." He wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I don't find solutions the way you do. I'm bad with technology, actually."

Cress was only slightly surprised. It was rare to run into a gorgeous guy such as him at Pwn2Own, the annual computer hacking contest sponsored by the CanSecWest security conference. Still, if he worked for Satellite Technologies, he had to know _something_. Even the staff in Marketing had to know about technology.

"That part of my job is more people-oriented. If a client has a problem, Corporate sends me in to smooth things over. In this case, I'm here to make sure we stay on track."

"You mean, that _I_ stay on track."

He chuckled. "No offense. There are a lot more pieces that go into these big government contracts than simply coding." He polished off the spring roll and grabbed the rice carton. "Not that coding is simple."

Cress pondered his words. As she nibbled on the last bit of her spring roll, she wondered what it would be like to travel around a lot and see different cities while working. She barely saw San Diego as it was, with all the time she spent in the office.

"That exciting," she finally said. "I work on my computer all day. Probably sounds boring, but I like it."

He raised any eyebrow. "I work for Satellite Technologies. How can I find anything related to computers boring?"

"You don't sit around all day and type in codes. Programming isn't exactly the sexiest job." She tried to hide her blush when she realized that she had used the word _sexy_ in front of him. She should have used glamorous. _Glamorous, Cress._

"Much more so than consulting, I'd say. People like you are going to put people like me out of business someday. That's awesome."

She was definitely blushing now. "Most people think it's geeky."

"Well," said Thorne, with a small smile on his lips, "like I said, I work for Satellite Technologies. I like geeky."

Cress stuffed her mouth with food so that she wouldn't have to respond. There was no way she _could_ respond. If only she were Julian and could think of something clever and flirtatious to say.

"Seeing new cities is a perk, though," he added after a while, probably noticing that she was chewing slowly and deliberately. "Living out of my suitcase is not, though."

He concentrated on taking more consistent bites when she merely nodded and continued eating. They fell into a silent rhythm of chewing and occasionally making eye contact. Cress always had to look away.

When she had cleared her plate, she asked, "So you wanted to ask me questions about the project?"

He nodded enthusiastically and put down his own carton. He wiped his hands, then reached for the briefcase on the other side of him. Cress watched nervously as he pulled out a tablet. She knew that she was good at her job, but there had never been anyone closely monitoring her progress like this. What if she was the reason his project didn't run smoothly this time? What if, after she had worked on the project, Corporate had to send him to fix things with the government?

"Do you know why there's a moon on the cover?" she blurted.

He frowned. "What moon?"

Cress rose and retrieved the glittery project portfolio she'd received from Jerry at the beginning of the week. She held it up for Thorne to see. "I've been playing with the program all week and I can't find anything related to a moon."

He took the portfolio from her and flipped it open, his eyes scanning the pages briefly. His brow furrowed when he closed it again to reveal the cover. "I've never seen this before. The cover, I mean. Where'd you get it?"

"Jerry."

"Huh." He shrugged and handed the portfolio back to her. "Maybe Corporate designed it for you. Your full name _is_ Crescent, isn't it?"

Her face fell. So he _had_ seen her ID card. She stared back down at the glittery moon. "You really think Corporate would do that?"

"This is the biggest project of the year."

"I suppose so."

"So," he said, beginning to type on the tablet, "why do you think the program isn't running properly?"

Cress's jaw dropped open. "I've only been working on it for five days!" _Four,_ she correctly herself silently, _since you wasted all day waiting for him to stop by!_ "That's hardly enough time to figure that out. I'm still trying to decrypt everything to even understand the programming. It looks like it took _years_ to create."

The hallway lights turned off, and Thorne drew back in surprise. "Did the power go out?"

"No, that's just the lights. It's Friday. They go out automatically at eight." She bit her lip when she realized just how much information that gave out about her habits around the office.

Thorne wrinkled his nose. "Creepy."

"It's not that bad."

Thorne returned to his tablet and typed something. "So you were saying—you're still decrypting?"

"It's a massive project. I'm guessing at least ten other people have seriously worked on this."

He glanced up, looking impressed. "How can you tell?"

"If I look hard enough, I can see different personalities inside a big program like this from each person that worked on it. I've found several so far."

"Personalities?" Thorne murmured. He discontinued his typing and gave Cress a bewildered look.

"It's—They're—" She cut herself off before she could say something silly and embarrass herself. "Nothing."

"No, tell me. What did you want to say?"

Cress wrapped a finger around one of the wisps of hair that fell against her face. She released it just as quickly. It was a bad habit.

"Everyone codes differently. Sure, the underlying concepts are the same, but each of us develops a different style that is reflected in our work. Sometimes, as a challenge, we'll even leave a signature of sorts inside the program for another person to find—if they're good enough to know how to look for it."

"I'm guessing you're good enough," said Thorne.

She tried to shrug modestly. "Each time I find a different style, it's like they're speaking my language. Only it's got a different accent or…or uses more sophisticated vocabulary here and there. Whenever I see traces of another person within the program, I feel like I start to know them. I pick up on their nuances. Their personality."

"Huh," said Thorne, nodding.

"It's like a window into their soul," she added quietly.

Thorne snorted. "That _is_ pretty geeky."

Her face fell. "Sorry."

"Nah, don't apologize. Remember, I like geeky."

"I find that hard to believe," Cress mumbled, though she knew a flush was spreading on her neck.

"Tell me about these signatures," said Thorne. "Do you write "Cress Darnel" into the program or something?

"No, it's not that easy. First, you have to leave traces of clues. You don't make it so just anyone can find you. And we use code names."

"Obviously," said Thorne with a smirk. "What's yours?"

Cress finally smiled. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

He laughed, and Cress's heart hiccupped at the way his eyes crinkled. They were as blue as hers, but they exuded light and energy in a way that hers did not.

"What if they don't leave a signature?" he asked.

"The personality is still there," she insisted. "I'll—I'll show you."

She returned to her desk and dropped the portfolio in front of her monitor. _Yes, this was better_. If she was behind her desk, she could regain some of her confidence. Especially now that she felt stupid for asking about the moon on the cover. If Thorne really was impressed by geeky things, then she could certainly show him something geeky.

"I doubt I would get it," said Thorne from the couch, but he got up anyway and made his way to her desk. He brought the tablet with him.

She had intended for him to sit in the chair across from her so she could swivel the computer around to show him. But he came around the desk and stood right beside her, leaning his head down so he was almost at her level. When she turned her head to the left, she nearly smacked into him.

He straightened immediately. "Sorry." He shifted a step to the left before leaning back down on the desk again, this time propping his forearms on the desk. He waited obliviously, as if he couldn't tell that Cress was completely wound up with him at this proximity.

She stared at her screen, trying to remember what she was supposed to do _. The personalities, Cress,_ she told herself.

"Well," she said, "let's see if I can figure out an easy way to explain this to, um—"

"—someone as simple-minded as me, who lacks any relevant knowledge but at least makes up for it in good looks?" he finished.

Cress tried not to splutter. Was he _flirting_ with her? Was he even _allowed_ to flirt with her?

"Someone who isn't familiar with programming," she managed to choke out.

She heard him chuckle next to her, but she dared not look at him.

"Maybe the best thing to do is…" But she trailed off, her eyes snagging on a tiny blinking dot at the top right-hand corner of her screen. She knitted her brow in confusion for only a split second, then her fingers flew across the keyboard.

She shut off the lights to the office with six commands and set on the automatic timer that mimicked the one in hallway with another three. She pulled up the controls for her door. It swung shut with a woosh, and a satisfying but _loud_ buzz confirmed it was locked.

"What are you—"

"Shh," said Cress. "There's been an unauthorized entry from the fire escape stairwell in the back."

He pushed off the desk abruptly. "What? You mean—"

"I don't know yet. I'm pulling up our surveillance right now."

"Surveillance? Cress—"

"Be quiet," she said, then felt bad immediately. "Please." There were protocols to follow. She called up the live footage from each room and office in Satellite Technologies. They popped up like dominoes, each recent one appearing on top of the last. She scanned each pane before moving it to the side. Thorne had stooped down close to her head again, but she ignored him.

Then she saw it.

A figure.

Thorne saw it a moment after her. "There." He tapped her monitor, but Cress moved his hand away instantly.

"Can you zoom?" he asked.

"Already on it," she said, isolating the biggest room with all of the cubicles, where the figure was moving around from desk to desk.

"It's a woman," said Thorne, his breath hitting Cress's ear. The figure, clad in all black, rummaged through a drawer before slamming it shut and surveying the room. "Look at those curves," he added.

Cress reached under her desk and pressed the panic button, which sent a signal directly to Jerry's cell phone and informed the police that they needed immediate help. She had never needed to use it before.

Thorne put his hands on Cress's chair. She let out a squeak of surprise.

"Get under the desk," he said, wheeling her away from the screen. "We don't know what she's after."

"No!" said Cress, scrambling up from her chair and returning to her screen. "I have to get a picture of her face."

"She's wearing a mask," Thorne hissed.

"No, I can get a better shot," said Cress. She typed furiously, trying to become one with the camera.

"I don't want _us_ to get shot," said Thorne. "We have to call 911—"

"Already did," she said.

The intruder finally turned, and Cress filled with pride. "Got you," she said, zooming one last time as the masked woman came into plain sight. But the masked woman suddenly looked up at the camera. Cress froze the camera with a tap, but it was too late. The woman reached for the gun at her waist and pointed it up.

Cress jumped, the blood draining from her face as the camera went black at the same time that the woman fired. She had seen this happen in many movies, but she had never quite imagined how loud a gunshot was when it was only a few rooms away. Her breathing came labored but Thorne practically ripped her away from the computer.

"Get under the desk _now_ ," he growled, dropping to the floor and disappearing at her feet.

She had to send the picture to Jerry. She had to lock her computer. She had to follow protocol. But after two more frantic hisses from Thorne, she crawled under the desk too. He was kneeling behind one of her hard drives. It was dark under the desk, save the small lights on the towers, sending streaks of blue and green across his shadowed face.

Cress hesitantly crouched next to him. Her desk was bigger than most, due to the powerful equipment she required to complete her job, but it wasn't big enough for something like this. Her arm bumped against his elbow and her hip hit his knee.

"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"

A round of shots rang out. Cress screamed, but it was muffled instantly by Thorne clapping his hand over her mouth. "Shh," he whispered urgently, his voice thick with emotion. Was he as afraid as her?

Her chest heaved and heaved as her mind created scenarios in which the shooter would need to fire that many bullets.

"We're going to be okay, Cress," he continued, his voice barely audible above the hum of her hard drives. "We just have to stay calm and quiet."

She stifled the whimper that threatened to escape. A few tears began to fall onto her cheeks, and soon she could feel herself trembling almost violently.

"Aces, you're shaking." He did not release the pressure he applied to her mouth, but his free hand brushed against her hip. "Is it okay if I…I mean…do you want to come closer?"

Cress nodded fervently. Applying slight pressure to her hip, he slowly drew her back against him, shifting off his knees. Cress began to cry in earnest, too overwhelmed by their current predicament and the concept of her back being pressed up against Carswell Thorne's stomach, his legs splayed out around her.

"I know it's hard," he whispered, "but try to calm down. I'm sure the police will be here soon. Maybe she's just a thief who's already taken what she wanted and is out the door."

She took deep breaths, trying to make her lurching heart stagger back into a normal beat. She wanted to latch onto a comforting fantasy, perhaps one with Carswell Thorne, but Carswell Thorne himself was so close that any imaginary boundaries in her mind had snapped completely.

He slowly eased his hand from her mouth. He let go of her hip too and rubbed both of his palms on the top of his slacks. Cress sniffed furiously and wiped her nose on her sleeve as quietly as possible. She was weak and pathetic and cowardly.

It didn't take long before Cress heard the smash of glass at her door. Thorne's hand flew back to cover her mouth. His other hand wrapped around her stomach in the semblance of an embrace. He did not speak.

They waited.

Cress tried not to breathe.

Thorne's heart beat rapidly against her back.

 _The Chinese food_ , Cress thought frantically. The leftovers would still be in the open cartons, warm and fresh and standing next to her dirty plate.

Making it easy to deduce that someone was still in the room.

Footsteps approached. Black boots appeared in front of their eyes. The boots shifted forward. The sound of papers being shuffled around on her desk sent a chill through Cress's spine. _The moon portfolio!_ She'd left it on the desk. If there was anything she should have hidden, it was that. But no, she had wasted her time trying to get the intruder's picture instead.

The intruder began typing on her computer.

 _Good luck with that_ , Cress thought, anger starting to replace her panic. Cress had put infallible password protection on the project. Even if the woman broke through her password to access her desktop, there was no way some thief would be able to open anything important. She worked for _Satellite Technologies_ , not some lame computer store.

Cress's neck was beginning to cramp with the way that Thorne was holding her. She focused on her breathing again.

There was a loud and sudden _thud_ against the top of the desk.

Cress and Thorne both started, and the top of her head hit Thorne's chin. She heard the low " _mmpfff_ " of pain that escaped his lips. A bead of sweat ran down the side of her face when the noise above the desk stopped. The boots took a step back.

The woman kicked forward and sent one of the hard drives slamming against the side of the desk with a crash. Thorne flinched back with Cress, his muscles tightening around her waist protectively in an attempt to shelter her from the impact. He lost hold of her mouth and she cried out.

The woman backed away far enough until they could see her whole body. The barrel of the gun pointed directly at them.

"Please," said Thorne, holding up his hands in surrender. "We mean no harm."

The woman tilted her head to the side, as if considering Thorne's words. Her eyes were cold and heartless. She gestured with the gun for the two of them to come out.

"Okay, okay," said Thorne, scooting out before Cress on his knees, holding his hands up awkwardly.

"Together," the woman hissed beneath her mask.

Thorne reached out his hand for Cress. She took it shakily. He guided her out from under the desk, then shoved her behind him.

"I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement," he said, almost lazily. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't want something. Perhaps my colleague and I can help you obtain it."

The woman's eyes darted from them to Cress's computer. It was only then that she noticed the shimmery glare by the woman's cleavage. Cress's portfolio was rolled up and spilling out of the top of the woman's tight black suit. The curves that Thorne had already mentioned when they'd seen her in the camera suddenly became more apparent.

A storm of boots and voices sounded from the entrance of Satellite Technologies. Cress's heart flashed with hope, then fear.

The woman's eyes jerked to the glass around Cress's office, then once again back to Thorne and Cress. She took a step closer to Thorne and cocked the gun in front of his face.

"Please," he said weakly.

Cress closed her eyes. Dread and anguish and cold-blooded fear filled her veins until she could barely breathe. Spots of white danced in front of her eyelids. She could not watch Carswell Thorne get murdered right in front of her.

The shots were nearly drowned out by Cress's earth-shattering screams.

Something exploded.

"Get down!" Thorne yelled, tackling her to the ground.

Cress reeled, her eyes flying open. The shock of seeing that Thorne was alive was magnified inconceivably by the sensation of slamming into the ground. Her knees burned against the brash carpet. The air left her lungs.

She lifted her chin off the ground just in time to see the woman sprinting toward the window. The room erupted in gunfire as the police stormed into the room, sending more bullets flying. Glass shattered in every direction.

Her hard drive towers were sparking, riddled with bullets.

Thorne pushed her head down and flattened himself over her body.

But not before she saw the woman throw herself out of the window.

It only took a few minutes of commotion before Thorne was rolling off of her and being helped to his feet by an officer. Cress feebly sat up and propped herself against the wall, refusing to accept Thorne's hand when he extended it to her. There was no way she could get up, even with Thorne supporting her. Her limbs were made of noodles.

Cress stayed silent, breathing heavily and trying to calm down as the police officers began walking around her office. It was not easy. There were glass shards scattered everywhere. Her desk looked like a bomb had gone off underneath it. The project portfolio was gone.

Thorne spoke quietly with one of the officers. Cress didn't pay them much attention, but did note that Thorne used a lot of vivid hand gestures to tell his story. He pointed at Cress frequently.

Another officer tried to get Cress to sit up, but she cowered against the wall, hugging herself.

"I think she's in shock," said Thorne.

They had to get her version of the events that had transpired regardless, the officer said, as traumatic as they may have been. No one could get to her now, though. There was no one on the floor but them.

"Is the woman dead?" asked Cress when her ability to speak returned. "The intruder."

The officer shook her head. "She escaped."

"But she jumped out of the window."

"She must have come prepared with an exit strategy. The ground unit has not recovered a body."

 _The ground unit had not recovered a body_.

Jerry arrived about ten minutes later. He approached Cress with worried eyes, and she tried to smile bravely, but it was no use. The flood works began again.

"Jerry," she sobbed. "I have to report something suspicious."


	6. Chapter 6

The next two hours dragged by slowly and painfully as Cress and Thorne rehashed every single thing that had happened the entire day. The police wanted to know anything and everything that had taken place, because "everything" was relevant.

Including why Thorne and Cress had chosen to have dinner together this particular night. Did they plan to have dinner together ahead of time? Did they usually stay late at the office on a Friday? Were they actually dating?

For a moment, the question hung between them like a cloud of unsettled dust. Cress swallowed hard. They couldn't tell the police that they were working on a secret project for the government—could they?

Thorne, though, was able to lie as smoothly as ever, saying that since he was the new guy he'd sought Cress out for clarification about a project. He'd thought it was a nice gesture to bring along food, since he'd forced her to stay late.

Jerry stepped in. "Ms. Darnel and Mr. Thorne will be working together a lot in the upcoming months. I'm glad they've had a chance to get acquainted—though I wish it could have happened under different circumstances."

Jerry had been extremely proud of Cress for getting a shot of the woman's face, though it was masked and one could barely see anything. He said that he would get someone from Satellite Technologies to begin running scans on it just in case. The police seemed affronted at his insinuation that their own staff would be useless in finding the culprit. They did not have a lot of footage, however, since the woman had shot out all of the cameras.

The cops had focused on their impression of her clothing and demeanor, simulated where Cress and Thorne had been at every moment during the shootings, forced them to mimic her voice, and asked the same questions a thousand times.

"It appears this is not a random burglary," one of the officers concluded, flipping her notebook shut.

Cress couldn't believe that the woman still took notes on _paper_. They were sitting in Jerry's office now, as the police had wanted time alone in Cress's office to get pictures of the crime scene. She was fine with that; not a bone in her body wanted to be anywhere near her office.

"From the surveillance footage we've reviewed," the officer continued, "it's clear she was looking for something specific. Though she went through all the other rooms, this is the only computer she tried to break into. And then, to leap out a window and disappear? I think we may be looking for a criminal mastermind."

Thorne gave the woman a disbelieving look. "Criminal mastermind? Don't give her so much credit. In case you haven't noticed, Cress and I are alive. Psycho bitch is more appropriate, I think."

Jerry put a hand on Thorne's shoulder. "Language, Mr. Thorne. We are still at the workplace, after all."

Thorne shrugged him off. "And I was nearly shot in the face at this workplace. Have I ever been shot at since I started working for Satellite Technologies? No. But not even a week _here_ and look what happens! Fix your locks, Jerry."

"The lock should be impenetrable without the code," said Cress quietly. "I designed it myself."

Thorne's features softened slightly.

"All the codes in the world won't protect a building from brute force," said the officer.

"Nevermind that," said Jerry after observing Cress for a minute. "The important thing is that no one was hurt, and nothing was stolen." He shot a look at the two of them. He was sweating again. "Nothing was stolen, right?"

Cress tried to say yes with her eyes as she shook her head. "My password is unbreakable." She sniffed. "But she destroyed my hard drives!"

"And that's why this person isn't a criminal mastermind," Thorne drawled. "If they _were_ , they would know that Satellite Technologies clearly has back-up servers of back-up servers."

"Can we continue this another time?" said Cress. "We've been at this for hours. I'm exhausted and drained emotionally."

The officer flagged down another officer who was inspecting the broken door. "Do we have all we need, Charlie?" She gestured at Thorne and Cress inside the office.

"Make sure they keep their phones on in case we need any more information," he said.

"Very well," said the officer. "We'll be in touch with you soon."

"Thank you for your time," said Thorne, reaching out to shake the officer's hand. When she had walked away, he huddled close to Cress and Jerry. "The portfolio is missing, Jerry," he whispered. "I'll call Corporate as soon as we get out of here to report it."

Jerry paled slightly. "That portfolio details the project."

"Not explicitly," Cress cut in. "It's only the overview, really."

"You should never keep top secret documents in plain sight, Cress," said Jerry. "You have a lock on your drawers for a reason."

Her face fell, but she remained silent. There was no point in arguing. She knew it was her fault.

"Cress Darnel?" said another officer, making Cress turn around in her chair.

"Yes?" she said tiredly.

"Though we don't have too much to go on, I believe you may have been the target of this attack. With your permission, we'd like to search your home tonight to make sure there isn't anything suspicious inside it."

"She's a suspect?" said Thorne hotly.

The officer raised his bushy eyebrows, looking annoyed and just as tired as Cress felt. "I just said that she might be the target. Therefore, we are looking for something suspicious in her home that could _harm_ her. There could be explosives, surveillance devices, even someone waiting for her."

"Ah," said Thorne.

"That's fine with me," said Cress. In fact, she preferred it. "Will someone be able to escort me home, then?"

The officer looked at Cress with some pity. "Perhaps you could stay elsewhere tonight? With family or friends?"

Cress bit her lip. It wasn't ideal, but she was sure Julian would be okay with it. Especially if she promised to tell him about every detail that had transpired with Thorne. "Okay."

"Excellent. We'll give you a call as soon as we've completed our investigation."

* * *

"Julian's not answering his phone," said Cress anxiously, after the call had gone to voicemail for the fifth time. He was not responding to any text messages either.

Thorne pushed a button in the elevator, then leaned back on the handrail. He had unbuttoned his collar and pulled on his tie until it hung loosely around his neck. Cress hadn't thought that he could look any better than he did when he was dressed impeccably, but this devil-may-care laid back style was possibly even _more_ attractive.

"Got anyone else you can stay with? Family?"

"Um—no," she said quickly. "No parents. They're dead."

Thorne's eyebrows drew together in concern. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It was a long time ago," she said, leaning on the handrail herself, though making sure to stay on the opposite side of the elevator.

The elevator pinged, and Thorne waited for her to exit first. Her heart gave a small flutter at the gentlemanly gesture.

"No siblings either?" he prodded as they continued on to the exit.

"Nope."

She wanted to add that she couldn't think of any friends to call either, but felt that might make her sound like an anti-social loser. It wasn't that she didn't have any friends at all, it was just that they were more friendly acquaintances or people she might see on a special occasion. Cress was more of a homebody, and that was okay with her. Between working all the time and catching up on her shows, there wasn't that much time to have friends—especially friends who would probably be bothered if she called them at 11:00 pm looking for a place to crash.

"I texted my friends, but none of them are answering either," she lied.

"It _is_ Friday night."

"Right...well, it's no big deal. I'll get a hotel tonight."

"A hotel last minute in San Diego? On a weekend? You'll end up paying a fortunate at some dump. You can crash at my place."

Cress, who was entering the revolving glass door, stopped in her tracks. The door stopped spinning and an automatic voice told her to proceed with caution. Flustered and embarrassed, she tried to manually push the revolving door forward.

"You can't touch the glass or it won't start," said Thorne from inside the building.

"I know," she muttered, and stopped pushing.

At least Thorne couldn't see her face at the moment. Had he just asked her to _stay at his place?_ Was she so shaken up from tonight's events that she had just hallucinated?

But this had been a traumatic event for both of them. This was merely one co-worker looking out for another, wasn't it?

Oh stars, he probably thought she had tried to guilt him into inviting her over with the hotel comment!

She took a moment to collect herself while Thorne made his way through the revolving doors behind her.

"So, what do you say?" said Thorne upon joining her.

"I…" Cress fiddled with her hands.

"It's not much," he said, "but I've got a spare bed and a nice view. Probably easier than the hassle of the hotel." He ran a hand through his hair. "And I've got a car, so you won't have to take a bus."

"How do you know I take a bus?"

He waved at the building behind them. "Everyone who drives parks in the company lot downstairs."

"Why did you walk out here with me, then?"

Thorne placed his hands over his heart in mock hurt. "And here I thought I was being all heroic, accompanying the damsel in distress so she doesn't have to wait alone outside. But now I can see all the cops out here and know you'll be fine, so my heroic actions are all done."

Cress blinked.

"Just kidding. We all know _I'm_ the damsel in distress and was too freaked out myself to go down to the dark garage. I'm stalling."

Cress still couldn't think of what to say.

His eyes crinkled in amusement.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I think I'm still in shock or something."

The carefree look on his face disappeared. "I think we both are. Jokes are always a good way to cover up one's true feelings, eh?" He rocked back on his heels. "Or not. So...you're safe, I'm safe. There's police all around the building…good. Great."

"Yup." She tugged on a strand of hair that was blowing across her face.

"The offer to stay at my place is still on the table, but if you don't feel comfortable, believe me, I understand. Just thought I could help. If you want."

"That's so kind," said Cress, but she wanted to kick herself. Was Carswell Thorne really rambling on about having her stay at his place? She really _was_ hallucinating. And she would surely combust if she got anywhere near Thorne's apartment. If only she hadn't let him put his arms around her under the desk. "But..."

He held up his hand. "Of course. I hope you have a really relaxing weekend after all of this, Cress. You deserve it. Stay safe."

She nodded. He nodded.

He turned on his heels and began to walk away. Cress looked across the street at the empty bus stop, knowing that at this hour there was only one bus every thirty minutes. She felt somewhat safe with the police around, but then again, she had felt safe back in Satellite Technologies. She supposed she could take a cab, but she had no idea where she would take said cab. It occurred to her, then, that there was no point in taking a bus either because she had no final destination. And what if the eventual hotel she booked wasn't even on this route?

"Thorne!" she called quickly, pivoting back and sprinting to the revolving doors.

He was already inside, walking to the elevators, and she waited impatiently for the doors to complete their circle. She caught up with him as he was pushing the elevator button.

"Thorne?"

"Cress?" His sharp blue eyes nearly made her run away.

"I'd really appreciate a place to stay, thank you," she said.

He beamed. "Great!"

* * *

"Watch out, watch out!" Cress yelled, clutching the handlebars of the passenger door.

Thorne veered to the right at the last moment, narrowly avoiding a construction cone. He cursed and shifted gears, making the car whine and crunch and jolt forward. She didn't know much about driving stick, but she hoped that Thorne was shifting down if that meant it would decrease their speed. His driving thus far had been erratic and out of control and _horrible_.

She had initially been thrilled in the garage when she'd seen the shiny, red sports car light up when Thorne had clicked his keys. She had never expected in a million years that someone as cool and collected as Thorne could be such a crazy driver.

"Sorry," Thorne muttered. He pressed on his GPS, which was telling him that he needed to make a U-turn at the next intersection. "I hate this car. It's completely useless unless you want to show off. The rental company is giving me a new one this weekend."

Cress tried to breathe deeply as he slowed down—but only barely. Then, without warning, he spun the steering wheel. The tires screeched. The GPS congratulated him that he was on the correct route again.

She checked the path indicated on the GPS and realized they were headed toward La Jolla. That was a beautiful area of San Diego. Maybe his view was of the _beach_.

"Do you drive in Chicago?" said Cress.

"Of course," said Thorne. He rested his hand on the clutch. "I have this awesome SUV. Corporate only pays for rentals though, not to have my car moved out here."

Out of nowhere, a song blared from the speakers, interrupting the low background music that had been playing before:

_I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT_   
_TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT_   
_SO SEXY IT HURTS_

Cress nearly had to cover her ears from how loud it was.

_AND I'M TOO SEXY FOR MILAN_   
_TOO SEXY FOR—_

Thorne reached for a Bluetooth earpiece on his dash. The music stopped, and the Bluetooth blinked blue. He hastily stuck it in his ear, then scowled. "It's about time you called me back!"

There was some silence, and Cress tried to pretend that she wasn't interested in his conversation.

"I don't care if it's two o'clock in the morning or if you're in a different time zone," he continued. "We were shot at. _Shot_ at." He glanced sideways at Cress. "Yes, Cress Darnel too…I _know_ …No, that's—what are they saying over there?…Uh-huh…No, you listen to _me_. I didn't sign up for this bullshit when you sent me out here…Well, aren't _you_ a genius…Sorry, right…Bodyguards, maybe? Extra security?...Yes, the portfolio is gone. Did you even listen to my message?…No…No…She's with me right now…Yes, she's fine…Yes, I _know_. Stop reminding me…Well, figure it out! We all have our own jobs to do here and _you're_ certainly not—"

There was a long break in the conversation as the other person cut Thorne off again. Cress snuck a glance at him and then watched as his face kept changing expressions. She wondered what his boss was telling him to do, or if he was coming up with a plan to keep Cress and Thorne safe.

Not that they must think this would happen again. Right? A lump in her throat formed at the thought of it.

Jerry had warned her. And she hadn't listened.

Maybe Thorne would get the government to send _spies_ to take care of them.

"Let's talk about this some other time," said Thorne finally. He paused again, then added: "Yes, I understand perfectly." He yanked the Bluetooth off his ear almost forcefully. She grimaced when he set his jaw, put both his hands on the steering wheel and pressed down on the gas. They zoomed forward, and it wasn't long before he ran a red light.

When Cress cried out, he seemed to jerk back to reality. "Oh, spades!" he said, slamming on the breaks. "Got lost in a train of thought there."

"E-everything okay?" said Cress.

"I hate my boss," said Thorne grumpily. "After a night like tonight, I don't need him jumping down my throat."

"He's mad?"

"He thinks the fact that this happened shows that I'm unfocused and undedicated." He shrugged. "You're lucky to have Jerry. He seems like a good guy."

"Unfocused? You can't help if someone broke into our building!"

He dragged his thumb over his lip before returning his hand to the clutch. He shifted again, but this time it made less noise in the car. "It's just business, Cress. People react differently to stress. You already know I tell lame jokes." He sighed heavily. "My boss, on the other hand, becomes a real jerk."

For a moment, Cress wanted to reach out, take his hand, and tell him that she would prefer a million lame jokes over Thorne becoming a jerk when he was stressed. She wanted to tell him that his jokes actually weren't that lame—it was just her awkwardness that made them _seem_ lame. She wanted to tell him that without his work to calm her down that night, she probably wouldn't be alive right now.

The idea of taking his hand and saying any of those things was enough to make her face heat, because her mind instantly sent her thinking about other scenarios that involved hand-holding inside of his house. She was thankful for the relative darkness inside the car.

Luckily, he chose that moment to make another U-turn. As she held onto the handlebars for dear life, he cursed.

"Sorry," he said, shifting again, "I always miss that turn. Hard to see with all these palm trees." He began to slow down the car. In a matter of seconds, they came to a standstill. "Annnnd, here we are."

Cress looked from Thorne to the building and gulped.


	7. Chapter 7

"But this is a hotel," said Cress.

"Kind of," said Thorne, shutting off the engine. He jumped out the door and jogged around the car, opening the passenger door for Cress before she could do it herself. She had, of course, been watching him in his haste. "It's an extended stay hotel."

He extended his hand to her like a chauffeur. Cress clasped it and allowed him to help her out of the car. Her hair blew in the light breeze, and between the sports car and the companion she almost forgot the terrible events that had transpired only a few hours before. She almost forgot his terrible driving. She felt like a movie star.

Thorne dropped his keys into the hands of the valet concierge who waited behind a podium. "Alak," he said. "She's all yours. Make sure you don't scratch her this time, though."

Alak choked, but Thorne laughed and patted him on the back. "Just kidding."

"That was mean," said Cress.

Thorne only chuckled.

The entrance lobby was packed, with people milling about the reception desk, waiting in line to eat at the restaurant, and chatting and drinking at the bar. With a hand on the small of her back, Thorne guided her to the elevator. "I've got the penthouse," he said proudly.

The elevator ride was agonizingly long, though it only took less than a minute. Thorne's eyes kept boring into hers, and it was hard not to feel flushed and nervous. Acknowledging that she was entering the place where Carswell Thorne slept and showered meant that she also had to acknowledge the fact that he was _occasionally in the nude_. If he were still a god, this would be a sacred place.

One short turn in the hallway outside of the elevator and Thorne was already inserting his key into the door. She tried to shrug off how nervous she felt.

Cress was taken aback by the beautiful sight in front of her. There was no ornamentation, no color on the walls, but the illuminated sculptural ceiling caught and captivated her eye—its wavy design seemed to roll like an incoming tide. It matched the theme of the suite, which had to be the seaside, for there was a 180-degree view through floor-to-ceiling windows. It was dark outside, with only a sliver of the moon casting light against the water.

"Not much?!" she breathed. He had played down this apartment way too much.

He shrugged. "I bet it'll be good for parties, but it's not very practical. Look at these stairs, for one."

Thorne passed the living area, which was directly underneath the ceiling sculpture and featured a three-way sectional couch and a massive TV against the wall. He stopped in front of the stairs, which were spiraled and protected by shiny, black plastic. It reminded her of a contraption used at a child's outside playground. "It's a bit too modern, don't you think?"

"That sculpture is incredible. Is your bedroom up there?" asked Cress, pointing up the stairs. She bit the inside of her cheek immediately. She hoped that asking about bedrooms didn't make her sound eager.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a bedroom. It's like a loft, with a full view overlooking the living space below. At least there's a bathroom connected to it. Want to see?"

She gulped again, but Thorne had already disappeared behind the gaudy plastic wall of the staircase. He ducked his head over the railing a second later. "Coming?"

She followed him silently, taking in the entirety of the beautiful apartment as she wound her way up to the loft. She paused at the top. A full-wall mirror was behind a messy, king-sized bed, making Thorne look double as he hastily stripped off the sheets. She blushed at the glimpse of what she suspected were boxers.

"Sorry, wasn't expecting company. I'll get some new ones before we turn in tonight. You think the bed'll be okay for you?"

Cress nearly choked as visibly as Alak had, but did her absolute best to cover it. _Was he suggesting—_?

"You mean—I'm—what about the pull-out bed?"

He bunched up all the sheets in his arms. "I'll take the pull-out bed in the sectional downstairs. I figured it'd be politer to have you sleep up here, being a lady and all. "

" _Oh_."

It was hard to believe that someone so handsome could be so kind as well. He hadn't intended at all for them to sleep in the same bed, as she'd originally thought he was suggesting. She had taken him for presumptuous, but he was actually a spectacular gentleman.

 _She_ was the one who didn't deserve the title of _lady_. The thought of sleeping with Carswell Thorne had crossed her mind more than once, though never seriously. It was all part of the Greek god fantasy. She had never been the type to sleep with someone who she'd just met, let alone didn't know extremely well. Of the few people she'd been with, it had taken a long time before she'd felt comfortable enough to even _kiss_ them. She was ashamed at how her thoughts had immediately gone to that scenario with him now, when he was clearly not insinuating _anything_.

Why did he have to be so hot and nice and respectful all at the same time?

"Wow," she said carefully, so as not to give away even the slightest hint of what she'd been thinking about. "That's so generous of you. But—"

"But you're going to protest and say that you couldn't possibly impose." His voice muffled as he waddled over to a compartment door on the other side of the loft and shoved the whole bundle of laundry into it. When the sheets disappeared, she realized it was a laundry chute. "I insist," he continued. "After an evening like today, you deserve to sleep in comfort." He shut the compartment and leaned against it.

Cress twirled a strand of hair and dropped her eyes. "Thank you," she mumbled. "I doubt I'll sleep well. Not because of the bed but because of that woman. I'm sure I'll have nightmares."

She dared glance up and saw him frown. "That's understandable. I'll be downstairs if you need anything at all. Tea…company…really, anything. We should be there for each other, don't you think? After what we went through today. Frankly, I might have nightmares myself."

"T-thank you. Really."

"I'll call down to the front desk and get you some clean sheets and a spare set for myself. There are already extra towels in the bathroom. The duvet is exceptionally feather-light, by the way."

He began to descend down the stairs.

"Thorne?" she said quickly.

He paused and then snapped his fingers before hurrying back up the one step. "You don't have any pajamas! How rude of me." He strode past her to the closet and turned his back to her. She hadn't even thought about the fact that she had no pajamas.

"Is a Tshirt and gym shorts okay?" he asked.

"Yes...perfect, actually."

Oh stars, he was giving her his _clothes_.

He re-emerged with the two articles of clothing in hand. He dropped them on the bed. "Well then, goodnight, Cress."

"Thorne?" she said again before he could try to leave. "Would it be possible to have a cup of hot tea now? I'm still feeling very…jittery."

There was no need to tell him that his presence and his penthouse were contributing to the majority of those jitters now.

His face broke out into that handsome, sexy smile, and she melted all over again. "Of course. Come on down."

Once in the kitchen, which was really just an extension of the whole open room, she took a seat at the long table and drummed her fingers along the edge. While Thorne called the main desk downstairs, a part of her wanted to run around and inspect every nook and cranny of his place so that she could determine more about his personality. But judging by the way he had shrugged off her compliments of the penthouse, she figured this wasn't a good representation of who he was.

Her eyes snagged on two frames that did not match the rest of the brown, black, and white motif that decorated the apartment perfectly. She glanced at Thorne, who was busy filling an electric water boiler with water, and decided it couldn't hurt to get a better look. She walked back over to the living area and bent down to study the first wooden frame on the side table.

The picture was of a younger Thorne, perhaps in college, holding a tawny cat in his arms. They were outside, on a lawn of some sorts, and Thorne was wearing shades. It was not a look she'd seen on him yet, and it made her wish he would throw them on right now. The frame said: _Boots has Cat-titude._

"Aww," she couldn't help but coo.

Thorne poked his head out from the kitchen. Noticing what she was looking at, he grinned.

"Is Boots your cat?" she asked.

"Yes. Coolest cat in the world."

Cress looked around the room. "Is he here?"

"No. I tried to bring him on some of my travels when I first got the job, but it didn't work. I think he gets confused about where he is. Misses home. He hates flying too."

"Oh no."

"My parents take good care of him while I'm gone, though."

"That's nice of them. Did you grow up in Chicago?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "How did you know I was originally from Chicago? I don't remember mentioning that."

She looked down at her feet. She needed to be more careful to separate what he had told her and what Julian told her, or he'd think she was gossiping about him. "I think I heard it around the office this week. Plus, it's only a few hours from Corporate headquarters."

"Ah. That's right. Yes, I grew up in Chicago."

"I've been there once," she said, hoping he would forget her blunder. "The Navy Pier was fun."

"Ha. Everyone wants to go there now because of the Divergent movie." He reconsidered. "Not that it wasn't famous before. Come on, your tea should be done by now."

"Just a second." She trotted across the room to the other frame that had caught her attention before, this time a silver one. It had lost most of its shine. There was another picture of a college-aged Thorne, but instead of holding on to a cat, he had his arm draped casually over a pretty girl's shoulder. He was laughing deliriously, but the girl was rolling her eyes and trying to shove him away. Her brown ponytail was whipping him in the face.

"That's one of my best friends," said Thorne, making Cress jump. She hadn't heard him come up behind her.

"You look really happy."

"I was."

Cress searched around for any other picture frames, but was met with only white walls. Returning her gaze to Thorne, she asked as nonchalantly as possible, "Did you two date?"

He laughed, not quite as much as in the photo, but enough to make her heart flutter. "Me and Cinder? Date? In her dreams."

In her head, Cress added that yes, he was probably right. Cinder had to be flirting with him in the picture, secretly in love with her best friend. And the way that Thorne said "in her dreams" so casually made it seem like he assumed most girls would dream of dating him. The only encouraging thing about the picture was that Cinder wore no make-up. Maybe the Greek god didn't surround himself solely with supermodel types.

She made a mental note to ask him more about Cinder and Boots later. If the only personal touches he'd added to his temporary residence were photos of a cat and a friend, they had to be extremely important to him.

When she got her tea and settled back into her seat, Thorne remained standing and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't mean to be rude, but tonight has completely worn me out. Would you mind if I hit the hay?"

"Oh!" she said, rising to her feet quickly. "No, of course not."

"Please," he said, holding up his hand, "sit down here as long as you want."

"I…I don't think I could," she admitted. "Not if you're down here sleeping. I can finish my tea upstairs."

"Okay. There's a bathroom upstairs, and also one downstairs, so you'll have total privacy up there. If you happen to wake up before me tomorrow, feel free to come down. I don't have a lot of food, but you can help yourself to coffee or tea."

"Thank you." She gripped her tea mug with both hands and took a sip.

They both stared at each other for a little too long.

"Well," he finally said.

"Well."

The buzzer rang, and Cress nearly spilled tea all over herself. Thorne, looking happy for the interruption, collected the two sets of sheets and tipped the porter. Cress decided that she didn't want to drink her tea upstairs after all and tried to swallow it as quickly as possible, but her tongue was soon scalded. She ended up dumping a part of it in the sink, despite Thorne reiterating that there was no rush and she could stay in the kitchen as long as she wanted.

She grabbed her sheets from him, though, and insisted that she could make the bed on her own.

"Thanks again, Thorne. This is so kind of you."

"It's my pleasure, Cress."

She trudged up the plastic staircase, taking extra care not to trip. She wrestled with the bedsheets, discovering that king-sized sheets were _enormous_ and that she had underestimated how much work it took to make them stay put under the corners of the mattress.

After washing her face in the small but fancy bathroom, she tiptoed to the edge of the ledge in Thorne's clothes. The shorts went down past her knee, despite rolling them up so they wouldn't fall off her. The shirt was baggy, though snugger than the shorts. She thought she looked kind of cute.

The lights from the loft illuminated the living area below, where Thorne had already made the pull-out bed. She jerked back from the ledge as soon as she spotted him lying in bed, afraid that he would see her peeping down. But she had caught a glance of him anyway. He slept on his stomach with his head sideways on the pillow and sprawled out above the covers.

She checked her messages before she went to sleep. There was still nothing from the police, and she was glad that she wasn't alone in a hotel somewhere just waiting to hear from them.

There was also still no message from Julian. Frowning, she sent him a final text before silencing her phone for the night:

_I'M AT CARSWELL THORNE'S HOUSE. SLEEPING OVER. *JUST* SLEEPING. WHERE ARE YOU?_

Then she deleted the message immediately, so no trace of it was left on her phone.

Once she had turned off the light, Cress snuggled into the comfy bed and tried to calm her over-worked mind. She didn't want to think about the thief, guns, or police, but it was hard not to flash back to the part where the woman had nearly shot Thorne. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and she clutched the covers closer.

She forced herself to think about her present situation instead. There was one small positive to this situation. A big positive, actually. The scare earlier had led to the last thing she'd ever have expected just five days ago: one-on-one time with _Carswell Thorne_.

Who was a _really_ nice guy _._ A _gentleman_. He was no longer just a pretty face. And, to top it off, he had proved to be the perfect hero in scary situations!

And she was sleeping in his bed.

_She was sleeping in Carswell Thorne's bed._

Her mind ran away with her then, and she imagined what it would be like to have Carswell Thorne next to her in his bed. Holding her tight, trailing kisses over her body.

As her boyfriend.

Though she knew that she was getting carried away with herself again, it was hard to stop the fantasy. She didn't _want_ to stop it. If anything had changed this week, it was that she absolutely, most certainly, could no longer deny that she had a huge crush on Carswell Thorne.

Cress let out a silent, giddy scream into her pillow.


	8. Chapter 8

When strong sunlight woke Cress the next morning, she groaned and reached above her to pull down the blind. The back of her hand hit glass instead.

Disorientated, she sat up quickly, trying to adjust to the brightness in her room. When she focused on her surroundings—a railing, a spiral staircase surrounded by black plastic, chic furniture, and a wall-length mirror behind her—she disappeared back under the covers.

Oh.

_Oh._

She was still at Carswell Thorne's house. It was so bright because he had a fancy schmancy penthouse suite and there were floor-length windows below the loft that was his bedroom. _And_ _she was still in his bed_.

She peeked out hesitantly from the covers, double-checked that Thorne wasn't anywhere to be seen, and darted into the bathroom. After a second of heavy breathing in front of the mirror, she snuck out to grab her cell phone off Thorne's nightstand. Once locked back in the bathroom, she turned on the water. Letting it run, she flipped down the lid on the toilet and sat on top of it to read the twenty-five messages that Julian had sent her only an hour before.

_WHAT!_

_SOMEONE BROKE INTO YOUR OFFICE AND TRIED TO SHOOT YOU?_

_WHAAAAAAAAT_

_GIRL R U OK?_

_NO. STOP. I CAN'T._

_YOU'RE AT HIS HOUSE?_

Cress squealed, knowing that if anyone would appreciate this circumstance, it was Julian. She wasn't even upset with him anymore for having abandoned her last night. Sure, it had been stressful, but now that she was here and alive and at Carswell Thorne's house, she could easily forgive him. And delight in his all caps messages.

_SHUT THE FUCKKKKK UP._

_Excuse me while I hyperventilate._

_*HYPERVENTILATES*_

_WHY R U JUST SLEEPING? WhaT do you MeAN? WHERE is YOUr MAN?_

Cress couldn't hide her blush when the next five messages were all GIFs of people making out or ripping off each other's clothes. It was impossible to stop smiling, though. She glanced at the running water, giggled, and then went back to reading.

_YOU NEED TO TAP THAT CRESS. TAP TAP TAP._

Cress laughed at the next GIF that was the spider in _Chamber of Secrets_ tap dancing.

_Listen. I'm SO sorry I couldn't help you out last night, StARS I'm glad you're okay, but guess where I was!?_

_*waits for you to guess*_

_*dies of old age*_

_Fine. I'll tell you since you're bORING and sleep in on Saturdays apparently (or are you tapping that as my last message instructed. I see u girl)_

_POE!_

Cress let out a surprised gasp of delight. The pictures were still sort of blurry and borderline stalkerish, for "Poe" was sleeping and clearly unaware that Julian was taking his picture, but Cress knew that Julian had been waiting for him to call all week.

_His real name is Josh and like, J &J, Cress, J&J. Omggggg srsly how can such a beautiful specimen actually be attracted to me!? Cress I'm in love._

_Best. Night. Ever._

_I'm going to wake up and realize that this is all fake and all I'll be able to do is cry and live vicariously through your sexcapades with our hot co-worker._

She giggled again and was glad for the running water.

_Call me as soon as you wake up._

Cress bit her lip, thought about calling, but then sent him a quick reply. Unlike Julian, she preferred to send an entire thought in one single text:

_WOW! Congrats! Josh/Poe is indeed a beautiful specimen. I'm sure he's just as excited as you. I just woke up and am hiding in Thorne's bathroom. He's downstairs and he's suchhhhh a gentleman. He let me sleep in his bed while he took the couch. I have to think of some way to thank him for letting me stay here. NO, not like that, before you even get any ideas. And get your mind out of the gutter. We're co-workers. We're not going to hook up!_

She sent the message and slid her phone into Thorne's enormous short pockets. Julian didn't need to know that she had imagined herself with Thorne the night before as well. Julian would get too worked up and cause her to lose face at work, surely, and she had to remain professional around Thorne.

This had _not_ been a date. She didn't want to freak him out after he'd been so hospitable and kind. She was not sixteen. She was a grown woman.

Hiding in a bathroom.

She got up and stood in front of the mirror, finally turning off the water, and inspected herself. Her appearance wasn't as terrible as she'd expected. Bedhead _could_ be sexy on occasion. She ran her fingers through the tangles and decided against rummaging creepily through Thorne's vanity for a comb. Her eyeliner had considerably smudged, though, and that annoying pimple was still there. She considered taking a shower, but felt that this was overstaying her welcome. It was morning, and it was time to go home.

Once back in the loft after at least washing her face, she went to find the little bit of make-up she'd put in her purse for work yesterday. Remembering that she hadn't checked her voicemail with all the excitement of seeing Julian's messages, she dialed it and listened; her apartment was all clear and they had found nothing and no one. It was fine to go home.

The thought of someone waiting for her at her house was enough to make her heart beat quick again, but she reminded herself that she was safe. The portfolio was gone, but no one was hurt. If they had what they wanted, surely they wouldn't come back. And they had forgotten one thing: Cress was one of the best hackers around. She would help the police find that person.

"Cress?"

The sound of Thorne's voice made her hastily shove the phone back in his pocket. "Just a minute!" she called.

"Take your time!" he called back. "I heard you walking around so I knew you were awake. Wanted to check on your preferences for breakfast. Should we go to the restaurant in the lobby or do you want me to order up?"

Cress glanced down at her outfit, then at the discarded clothes she'd worn the day before. "Order up, please!"

"Sure thing."

She heard covers rustling and the sound of bare feet hitting the ground. She wanted to spend an hour or two more in the bathroom making sure that she looked decent, but she really had nothing with which to remedy her situation besides the little bit of makeup. She applied what she could quickly, before Thorne could wonder what she was doing in the bathroom so long, and finally joined him downstairs.

"Good morning, Cress."

Thorne smiled warmly at her, and her heart hitched once more. He was wearing jeans and a faded gray Tshirt that fit him snugly. She wondered if he had snuck up into the loft to retrieve his clothes while she'd been in the bathroom.

He held two tiny cups in his hands and extended one to her. "How did you sleep?"

Cress accepted one of the tiny cups and she realized it was coffee. The cool, European kind of coffee that you couldn't buy at Starbucks: espresso. She felt fancier just holding the cup in her hands.

It made sense. Fancy penthouse, fancy food.

"Surprisingly, okay," she said shyly. It was so intimate to talk about sleep with someone she barely knew. And this someone, in whose home she had spent the night, was now looking at her wearing his clothes. "You?"

Thorne's eyes roamed over her, but not in a lewd way. It seemed, rather, like he was considering her and her presence in his kitchen. When she tugged on her shirt—his shirt—self-consciously, he quickly looked up and seemed embarrassed to have been caught checking her out.

"My clothes suit you," he murmured. Then, more confidently, he added, "I slept like a log. The company was good for both of it, it seems."

He turned his back to her abruptly, chugged his espresso, and deposited the tiny cup in the sink. He gripped the edge of the sink with both his hands and leaned forward on it, tapping one of his fingers against the edge. Cress watched him curiously, trying to figure out what he was doing, but before she had any clue, he had already turned around to face her again.

"Breakfast should be here soon. I didn't know what you wanted, so I ordered everything."

"Oh, I like everything. Thank you. Does Satellite Technologies pay for your breakfast too?"

He leaned against the sink with his back this time, crossing one ankle over the other and once again looking like the personification of a perfect gentlemen. "Normally, breakfast should be on my own. But I can write this one off as a work breakfast. Or brunch, considering the time."

The doorbell rang.

"There it is."

Thorne excused himself to answer the door, and Cress finally took a seat at the table. She sipped her espresso and held out her pinky finger as she did so, for it felt like the right thing to do with such a delicate cup.

Thorne stayed at the door for longer than expected, and Cress saw that he was with two of the porters, apparently in deep discussion. She tried not to eavesdrop, and continued drinking her espresso.

One of the porters, however, entered the apartment with Thorne. He was a massive man, with hair as dark as night and eyes as green as an emerald. He made Thorne look short, and Thorne was probably at least six feet tall. He carried two trays effortlessly in his hands.

Cress remained seated, hoping that the man would not see too much of her makeshift pajamas. They didn't expose much of her skin, but she felt more exposed than ever wearing them.

The porter set the trays on the table, but Thorne surprisingly did not thank him or tip him. She wanted to chastise him for being rude, but the man peered so expectantly at Cress that she lost her words. The man's stare was completely intimidating.

"Miss Darnel," he said, making Cress's eyes furrow at the fact that he knew her name. "I am your new bodyguard."

Cress blinked as Thorne smiled. "Excuse me?"

"Your new bodyguard," he repeated, crossing his hands behind his back.

"Yes, I heard you, but…," she trailed off and looked helplessly at Thorne, who was still grinning.

"Corporate was quicker than I expected," Thorne said. "Remember when I told you yesterday that we were going to get you a bodyguard after what happened?"

"No. I think you forgot to mention that."

He waved a hand. "No, I definitely mentioned that." He stopped and seemed to consider, then frowned. "Huh. Maybe I did forget. But I told my boss about it on the phone in the car."

Cress regarded the man who was supposed to be her new bodyguard. "Are you from Chicago too?"

"No."

When he offered no more explanation, Cress asked, "Are you a spy?"

Thorne laughed, but her bodyguard only shook his head, as somber as ever. "Private security, ma'am."

Cress wish that there were more coffee in her tiny cup so that she could sip it and buy some time while she thought over this new development. If bodyguards were solely picked based on muscle mass and intimidation factor, this man would surely be the best bodyguard in the world. But that was not the only thing to consider in this situation.

"I'm not sure that I want a bodyguard," she said. "No offense."

"Cress, we were both nearly killed yesterday. Aren't you scared?" said Thorne. He looked at her like she was crazy for not jumping up and down with glee.

"I don't even know this man," she said.

The bodyguard cleared his throat. "I'd be happy to give you my credentials, ma'am."

"That's a good idea," said Thorne. "You could probably hack into his information in a second, right?"

At that, the bodyguard raised a curt eyebrow at Thorne, but did not change his somber stance.

"This is a lot to take in," said Cress.

"It's only temporary, Cress, until you finish the project. My boss agreed that your safety is the top priority. And when you think about it, my boss is Jerry's boss technically…"

"...and therefore my boss," she finished.

She vaguely recalled Lewis Brimm from her orientation at Satellite Technologies. He had been featured in all of the videos that discussed the innovative breakthroughs that the company was making in the cyber world. She had dug up information on him and many of the other people at Corporate after that, to verify that what he had said was true, and to know what kind of people she would henceforth be working for. She hadn't bothered to research any of them much since then. Corporate only tasked them with one or two projects a year, and she was fine taking requests from Jerry, who was a direct report to Mr. Brimm.

The fact that Mr. Brimm would go out of his way to get her a bodyguard at Thorne's request made her puff up a bit. Then, with a little anger, she remembered how bad he had made Thorne feel yesterday on the phone.

Though the last thing she wanted to do was appease that man, now that she knew his true nature, Thorne did have a point. Her safety had been compromised yesterday. The portfolio was gone. They had no idea yet who was responsible for breaking into Satellite Technologies. And they had no idea what the person who had taken it would do with the information she found in the portfolio.

"How would this work?" she said to the bodyguard. "Will you follow me around everywhere?"

"Yes."

"Could you be more specific?"

He cleared his throat. "My job is to be an inconspicuous presence around you at all times. I will make sure to keep a respectful distance so as not to interfere in your personal activities, but close enough in case you should require help. My employer has informed me to be stationed outside of your apartment door when you go home and outside of your office door while you are at work."

"Are you going to wear that suit all the time?" His black suit had been the reason she'd first assumed he was a porter, and then a spy.

"Yes."

"How is that inconspicuous?"

"Inconspicuous to you, ma'am. I hope my presence is known to anyone who would wish to harm you."

"But when will you sleep?"

"I will have a replacement in the evenings who will take the night shift. You will not have much interaction with him, as he will merely make sure that no one bothers you while you are sleeping."

"See, Cress?" said Thorne, still looking delighted. "This will be a great arrangement. And it will help me sleep at night knowing that you are safe."

She still wasn't sure that this was what she wanted, but she didn't have a better solution. Very soon, she would have to go back to her apartment and face the crushing reality that someone had nearly killed the both of them yesterday. She doubted that she would ever be able to get through this project without having to look over her shoulder every three seconds and make sure that no one was watching her.

Maybe this could help with that.

"I suppose I could see how it goes," she conceded. "What's your name? I can't have you around all the time if I don't know your name."

"You may call me Kesley," he said with a little bow. "Now, if you need anything, I'll be right outside, Miss Darnel."

"Thank you, Kesley. Please, call me Cress."

His eyes twinkled at her comment, but he did not reply and showed himself out.

Thorne plopped down into the seat in front of her and lifted a lid off one plate to reveal piping hot scrambled eggs and bacon. He opened another lid and Cress's mouth watered at the sight of French toast and Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.

Soon they were both eating eagerly, and Cress found it easy to forget that Kesley was standing right outside the door. In fact, if it would be like this for the remainder of her time working on the project, it might not turn out to be as big of a deal as she'd made it.

Thorne let Cress eat most of the Belgian waffles when she admitted that they were her favorite, and he admitted that he preferred bacon anyway.

Thorne turned on the TV and the two of them caught up with the news as they ate. There was no mention of the break-in at Satellite Technologies, and Cress wondered who had paid the police to not inform the media.

As they ate and watched the news together, occasionally commenting on whatever was being reported, Cress couldn't help but marvel at how normal the situation felt. The last time she'd eaten breakfast with someone in her pajamas had been with her ex-boyfriend three years ago. And right now, despite how good Carswell Thorne looked in that gray Tshirt, Cress didn't feel nervous. She felt _great_ , actually.

"I was thinking," said Thorne during a commercial. "Would you want to go sight-seeing with me today?"

Cress paused mid-bite. Thorne was asking her to _hang out_? For real? Without the threat of danger in front of them? She swallowed a little too quickly and had to cough several times to clear her throat. All of her nerves had returned.

"If you're still planning on working or have plans, it's no big deal," he continued, unfazed by her renewed inability to form sentences around him. He took a leftover strawberry from her plate and smiled as he bit into it.

"No, no," she said quickly. She decided to forget work and for once do something that she really wanted. And what she wanted was to prolong her time with Thorne as much as possible. She deserved that after yesterday. "That would be nice."

His smile deepened, revealing his dimple. "Awesome. It's no fun to see a city by myself. And now I'll have an expert alongside me."

Cress smiled too as she took a small scoop of whipped cream. "I'm no expert, believe me."

"We can see something new together, then."

"Okay." This was an unexpected turn of events, but a wonderful one. After a second thought, she added: "Can we stop at my apartment beforehand so I can change, though?"

Thorne's eyes danced with delight as they swept over her appearance one more time before he nodded.


	9. Chapter 9

In the anticipation of being able to return home and put on new clothes, Cress had underestimated how nerve-racking it would be to have Thorne in her apartment while she got ready. Nothing about going back to her apartment had played out as she'd imagined.

Kesley had entered the premises first—as he'd called her apartment—to make sure that the police hadn't missed anything. When both Cress and Thorne had hesitated at his words, he had shaken his head and pushed open the apartment door. "Stay out here until I make sure it's clear."

Cress had played with her tangled hair while Thorne had leaned against the wall and fixed his eyesight on a random spot to the side of her shoulder. Whenever they met each other's eyes, he would offer a smile and Cress would look down at her feet.

When Kesley told them it was safe to enter, Cress rushed through the door and asked Thorne to count to a hundred before coming inside. She shut the door in his and Kesley's faces before either could protest.

She sprinted across her apartment, dying of mortification when she saw the mess that Kesley had already seen and Thorne would see very shortly. It wasn't exactly the messiest apartment ever, but she was not used to having much company over and she usually cleaned on weekends. There were leftover food cartons on the table and discarded sweaters draped over the back of chairs and stacks of unopened mail scattered near the entrance where she tended to drop it while taking off her shoes.

It was nothing like Thorne's impeccable penthouse.

She left the mail and scooped up the sweaters. The food cartons weren't horrible, but having been away for over twenty-four hours didn't leave the most pleasant of smells. She tossed them in the trash and then dashed into her bedroom. Unlike Thorne, she had made her bed as usual, but there was a pile of laundry in there too, including a visible, lacy pink thong and a nude bra that was used for comfort rather than style. She opened her closet and threw the clothes inside and shut the door. Guests didn't open closet doors so even if they somehow—somehow—ended up in her bedroom, he wouldn't see that she was way overdue on laundry.

When she exited her bedroom, Thorne was already sitting on her couch. He was rifling through one of her magazines, and she hoped it wasn't the one whose feature article discussed the new, wild sex positions that everyone was trying lately (according to the article). She normally only read that magazine because of the fashion tips and swoon-worthy _Love at First Write_ column that she'd been following for two years now.

If he was reading that article, his face didn't show it as he looked wiped some sweat away from her forehead and decided upon seeing his impressive self that she desperately needed to take a shower. "Can I offer you something?" She bit her lip. "Sorry it's so messy in here."

He waved away her comment. "You should see my place in Chicago. This is nothing. And no, thank you, I'm full from breakfast."

She nodded towards the bathroom. "I'll just—just take a quick shower then."

"Take your time." He lowered his gaze back to the magazine.

Taking a shower in her own apartment with Thorne sitting just outside the door was just as intimate as the idea of taking a shower in his apartment. She reminded herself of coworker boundaries and wondered if this wasn't pushing it. But everything about the last twenty-four hours had pushed those boundaries into a path that she wasn't quite sure how to navigate. Maybe he was out of his comfort zone as well.

But what _was_ the harm of sightseeing with a coworker on the weekend? She had to stop thinking about this from a romantic angle.

It was hard to do that when everything about Carswell Thorne was romantic angles.

Because he was waiting for her, she chose to skip blow drying her hair because it took way too long with the length. And if she didn't straighten it, it would be frizzy anyway. Feeling as unoriginal as always, she wrapped it up in a bun, then changed her mind and made a quick French braid that trailed down the side of her neck. It wasn't exactly the most mature look, but it was the best she could do under the time constraints.

She put on a pale yellow sundress and added a necklace from a downtown artisan market.

Fifteen minutes of makeup was all she allowed herself as well, because she didn't want him to think that she was vain, especially after all the time that she had spent in the bathroom this morning.

She had never been more thankful that her bathroom was located inside of her bedroom. It was an inconvenience when someone was visiting, but with a stud sitting on the couch, she appreciated the freedom to move between the bedroom and the bathroom as she completed her look.

She emerged shyly.

Thorne's brow was furrowed in concentration as he read intently. Stars, she hoped it wasn't that sex article.

When he noticed Cress standing there, he cocked his head to the side. "Look at you, all casual."

She clicked her heels together. "This is what I look like on weekends."

It was a total lie. She wore pajamas all weekend when she wasn't working and pretty much didn't change out of them for forty-eight hours unless she needed to go to the grocery store or run errands. This was the type of outfit that she wore when she actually cared what she looked like, which meant that she was either on a date or meeting friends—not too common of an occurrence lately.

He grinned. "It's a good look."

She clicked her heels again and then decided to stop fidgeting. "You look different too. No, um, tie." Or dress shirt, or pressed slacks, or cufflinks either. But she was not about to tell him that she had memorized his look.

"This is what _I_ look like on weekends." He got to his feet. "Ready to go?"

She nodded.

"Excellent. I've had some ideas so you'll have to let me know whether they're good ones or not."

It was her turn to offer a little wave. "I'm sure whatever idea you've had is better than anything I could come up with."

"Nah, you're the genius," he said, but he walked to the door and held it open. "Do you like the zoo, Cress?"

* * *

Cress could not believe that in the six years that she had lived in San Diego, she had never been to the San Diego Zoo. She _loved_ animals. Passing through the ticket booths and feeling a rush of excitement was a true testament to just how absorbed in her work she had been.

Thorne could also not believe that she had never been to the San Diego Zoo.

"But it's world-famous!"

"Really?" She tried to play it cool. "It's probably a very touristic experience, like all zoos."

Touristic or not, Cress was as happy as could be walking around the zoo with Thorne. Any tension that had existed between them throughout the entire week or even that morning completely melted away in front of the first exhibit: reptiles. Cress liked to read up on the background of each of the reptiles, while Thorne liked to point out if one of them was missing a tail or trying to camouflage behind a rock. She had never considered that reptiles could be so cute, but once she knew all of the information about them, it was hard not to love them no matter what they looked like.

They moved on to the panda exhibit next, which was probably the exhibit she was most looking forward to. Cress had watched about a million panda videos on YouTube throughout her life. It was hard to find anything cuter in the world, with the exception of babies who did silly things, or maybe even penguins who waddled and then fell down a sheet of ice like a wobbly sled. It was hard not to coo when she discovered that one of the pandas was pregnant.

"We'll have to come back when they are born," said Thorne. He pointed at the exhibit sign, which Cress had already memorized. "Looks like it's rare for them to get a panda at all. I bet it'll make the news."

He continued up the pathway that encircled the exhibit area, and Cress was quick to keep pace with him. Her mind, however, was caught on the fact that he had said _we_. _We'll_ have to come back.

"I could stay and look at the pandas all day," she admitted. "Are there any animals that you want to see?"

"I'm a fan of tigers."

"Oh. Those are nice. More active than pandas, for sure. Do you know where their cages are?"

Thorne pulled a folded map of the zoo out of his jeans pocket. He ran his finger along it and then paused at a dot not far from where they were. "Here."

"Let's go, then."

"Sure you don't want to stay with the pandas longer? I'm not in a hurry. But I could eat."

Cress glanced at her watch. "Gosh, it's already almost three. We've only seen two exhibits!"

Thorne chuckled. "We did get a late start. And the reptile exhibit should count for about thirty different animals, I reckon."

"Maybe we can get some snacks from the concession stand and then sit somewhere near the tigers."

"I like the way you think."

* * *

Cress happily chewed on her corndog while she watched Thorne wolf down a hamburger and some popcorn. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kesley standing about thirty feet away under the shade of a tree. She had gone up to him and insisted that he eat something, but he had merely adjusted his shades and shaken his head. So far, having him around had not been that bad. Every once in a while, she forgot that he was even there, but whenever they changed locations she would feel like someone was following her. She supposed it would simply take some time to get used to it.

"You know," said Thorne, wiping his lips with the back of his hand, his mouth was still full, "I've always wanted to have a tiger as a pet."

Cress giggled. "That seems inconvenient."

"But think of the power that would come with having one as your pet."

"Honestly, it's never even crossed my mind." She was happy that for once the somewhat-odd idea had come from someone else's imagination instead of hers.

"You've heard of those magicians in Vegas, right? The ones that tame tigers?"

"Mhmm."

"They can draw an entire crowd. I bet I could get people to pay me to see my tiger if I owned it."

"But where would you keep it?"

He laughed. "Not in my apartment, that's for sure."

Cress nibbled on her corndog. "Is that why you got a cat? Because you couldn't get a tiger?"

Thorne threw his head back and laughed. He took a long sip from his Coke before answering. "Not really. I got Boots when I was fifteen. I was having trouble in math and I finally got my grades up to where my parents expected them to be, so they bought me a cat." He sipped on his straw with a smug expression. "I may or may have not failed on purpose so that I could improve enough to get my cat."

She tried to picture a younger Thorne, one who was fifteen and so desperate for a cat that he failed math on purpose, but her mind always pictured him as about college-aged, like the picture in his penthouse. He was just as handsome back then as he was now, in his late twenties. She had not been the most graceful-looking teen, and she wondered if Thorne had always had natural good looks or if he had also been plagued with acne and arms that were too long for his body until he'd had a growth spurt.

"What are you thinking about?" Thorne asked.

"Oh—nothing."

"You've got this contemplative look in your eyes."

There was no way to tell him that she'd been contemplating him, so she hedged the question and simply said, "A cat is certainly less work than a tiger. And cuter."

"Well, that's really why I wanted a cat. The girls were lining up after that."

"I bet they were lining up before then." She said it without thinking, and clamped her jaw shut.

Thorne cocked his head again to the right, studying her as he sipped on his straw. "I could say the same thing about you. Who doesn't love a pretty genius?"

Her voice caught in her throat. Was he calling her pretty? She crossed her legs and her foot bumped into his knee under the table. "Sorry, sorry."

Thorne got up from the table, though, and pointed at her plate. "Done?"

She nodded.

He grabbed her plate and stacked it on his, took a final sip of his drink, and left the picnic table to throw away their trash. Cress scooted out of the picnic table and let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"Let's get a closer look at the tigers," he said.

She waved at Kesley as they passed by his tree. He did not wave back.

"Tell me something about your childhood," said Thorne as they approached the railing. "Were you always interested in information technology?"

Her lips tugged into a smile. "I think what I do is a little more complicated than regular information technology."

He snorted. "Sorr-y. Were you always interested in secret government contracts that might change the future of cyber technology as we know it?"

She grinned and leaned slightly over the railing to see the tigers better. There were supposed to be three, but she could only see two of them. The one that was missing was from Siberia. She snuck a glance at Thorne to see if he was enthralled with the tigers, but she found him staring at her instead.

She returned her gaze to the tigers quickly. "Usually the contracts aren't as top-secret as this, though we obviously have to keep confidentiality. But no, I was never really sure what I wanted to do. I just happened to be really good at this. After a while, I realized that I could make a career out of it. It's interesting work and I like the idea that I'm helping people."

"This is probably a terrible time to tell you that I'm more interested in the money." His voice had a teasing tone to it and she wasn't quite sure if he was serious or not. "Though I didn't really know what I wanted to do either. I just knew I wanted to do something that would take me around the world and not just keep me stuck in one place forever."

"I think I wanted that too," she admitted. "I think having a job made me forget some of my earlier thoughts about what my career might look like."

"You could still make that happen, if you decide you want to travel. Isn't the best thing about your job that you could do it from anywhere?"

"In theory, but I need to have the right technology. The size of my processor at Satellite Technologies would probably make your mind spin."

"So size _does_ matter, huh." He glanced slyly at her, as if waiting to see her reaction—which was of course to freeze and turn a deep shade of red—then smiled and shook his head. "Just kidding."

The third tiger emerged from behind the den, then, and Cress pointed excitedly, thankful for the distraction but also eager to see the Siberian tiger. Thorne finally seemed to be interested in the tigers as well and stood on his toes to get a better look. Cress, who was not that much taller than the railing, stepped onto the first rung to be closer to his height.

"Speaking of Satellite Technologies," said Thorne after a while, "I wanted to check in to see how you're doing. Yesterday was…interesting."

"I'm trying not to think about it."

Thorne sighed heavily against the railing. "Me too. Maybe if neither of us think about it, it won't be real."

One tiger was prowling around the other now. Cress leaned forward a little more. "It'll be real on Monday," she said quietly.

"Maybe completing this project will be the revenge we can get on that crazy woman."

"Oh, I've already thought of that. I'm sure that I can catch whoever it was before I complete the project."

Thorne scooted close enough to her that she could have touched her arm to his if she breathed too deeply. He lowered his face so it was level to hers. "Really? You're that good?" When she raised an eyebrow, he quickly added, "I mean, I know you're a prodigy and all, but what do you really have to go on? If she had left a bunch of codes around I would expect you to find her in a heartbeat. But this is like, some serious spy shit, don't you think?"

So she wasn't the only one who had thought it.

"Maybe. But if she was a spy, wouldn't there be a counter-spy in the mix? In the movies there is always a good spy and a bad spy. Where's the good spy?"

He chuckled, and since he was so close to her, Cress could almost sense the low, rumbling vibration that went through his throat when he did. "Corporate sent me a briefing this morning and it looks like the government contractor who hired Satellite Technologies is isn't as concerned as we are. He seemed pleased that you'll have a bodyguard and said that as long the woman didn't actually touch your codes, it should be fine. He did say they would look into it, though, so maybe there would be a spy involved with that? Would we even know?"

The tigers had stopped circling each other. One was now yawning and stretching, and the other was completely disinterested. The third tiger had disappeared again.

"No, they wouldn't tell us. I think Kesley could be a spy, though."

Thorne glanced over his shoulder, and his face nearly brushed Cress's braid. "No, my boss hired him from a private security firm. I feel like a spy wouldn't just stand in the shadows all day."

Once he was facing forward again, Cress plucked up her courage. Thorne had admitted that she was somewhat of a genius already anyway. It was a title not many had used for her, but _prodigy_ was certainly one she could claim. "I can find her. She spoke, didn't she?"

"Yes…"

"There are voice recognition programs and databases within a lot of servers. I bet Jerry would let me get to work on that. Under the radar, of course. I bet I could get Julian to help me. He doesn't have to know that the woman was trying to steal a project that he's never heard of."

"I hate to say this, but I hope you won't lose focus on the project itself while doing that. I still need to give them an expected completion time."

Cress tore her gaze away from the tigers and stole a furtive glance in his direction. His deep, blue eyes were so startling, and she wondered if she would ever get used to them. She had the urge to close her own eyes, pretending that he might actually be thinking about kissing her with the way that he was staring into her eyes, but she knew he was just waiting for an answer.

"I don't know yet. I'm doing my best. I promise I won't get distracted."

Thorne relaxed slightly, and turned back to the exhibit. "Sorry. It's the weekend. Why am I even talking about this? We're not on the clock right now. Work hard, play hard, right?"

She smiled. "Right."

"Tigers are much more boring than I remember. Do you want to get some ice cream with me?"

* * *

The ice cream was great, but the company was even better. The more they walked and talked, the more Cress felt herself beginning to open up to Thorne. She didn't know why it was so easy to share around him, when half the time a mere smile from him threatened to render her speechless and stuttering. But when her nerves stayed in check, she found that she wanted to open up to him.

He was interesting and full of energy and always added a unique sense of humor to whatever they were talking about. Some of his comments still remained borderline inappropriate, but she was getting the impression that this was just a part of his personality.

And she really, really liked his personality.

She really, really liked his body too. She tried not to focus on how attracted to him she was physically, when there was clearly so much else about him to fall for.

Who would not want to be around him when he was the way that he was? Was it too much to think that these types of conversations between the two of them might lead to the deep soul connections she had always longed for in a boyfriend?

A deep ache formed in her stomach at the realization.

It wasn't just attraction. She wanted more with this man.

* * *

"Wow, I didn't realize it had gotten so late," said Thorne in the car.

Cress _had_ realized. It was almost 6:00 PM. They had now spent twenty-four hours together consecutively. She counted the eight hours or so they had slept in the same apartment, even if they were physically separated at the time.

Very reluctantly, she asked, "What time is your date?"

She had been wanting to ask that question for nearly three hours now, but hadn't wanted to ruin the moment. It had been a lot of fun to pretend that Thorne was actually flirting with her when he made jokes or complimented her. He was even driving better today, though a part of her wondered if she was just cutting him more slack.

"7:30."

A silence fell between them. Since she had gotten to know Thorne today, a part of her was happy that he had a date and would likely have a good time tonight. The other part of her was sad and a bit jealous that someone else would get to enjoy his company the way that she had.

"Cress?"

"Mmm?"

"I was thinking…" He trailed off and concentrated on the road. But after a moment, he seemed to set his jaw. "I was thinking I might call her and cancel."

Cress's eyes widened. "O-oh? Why's that?"

He let out a breath like a laugh, like there was some joke that she had missed. But when he spoke, his voice was low and unsure. "I hope it's okay for me to say this. Cress…after a day like today, I'm not sure that I'm interested in her company anymore."

His eyes lingered on her pointedly, before he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the road. As the weight of his words began to sink in, it was hard for Cress not to melt into a puddle. Was he really canceling his date because of her? She tried to think of the perfect thing to say in this moment, but apparently she thought too long, because Thorne turned up the stereo.

The moment was lost.

When they reached her apartment building, Thorne parked and ran around the car again to open up her door. Kesley got out of his own car and entered ahead of them the building ahead of them, but Thorne took Cress by the elbow, keeping her from going inside.

He released her, but took a step closer. She took a step back and ran into the brick wall with her back.

Thorne took another step toward her.

Her breath hitched.

"I had a really good time today," he said in a low voice.

"M-me too," she managed to stutter.

Her heart fluttered uncontrollably.

"I—"

The door opened and an elderly couple from her complex exited so slow that snails could have run past them. Thorne's attention flitted between Cress and the couple. She tried to wet her lips in the instants that he wasn't staring at her.

But as the couple began to distance themselves from the two of them, Thorne rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly. His eyes trailed over Cress's face, as if trying to make a decision, before he shook his head.

"I should get going," he said.

Cress's heart deflated from all the pent up anticipation that had bottled up inside of her.

"It's been a long day," he continued. "I—I should get some rest."

"Rest…rest sounds good," Cress echoed. Her throat was dry and her back was flat against the wall. Thorne was still only mere inches away from her. She squeezed herself to the right to distance herself. "You should call your date."

"My—right." Thorne seemed to snap out of it. "My date. Ex-date, now. Can it even be an ex-date if you don't ever go on the first one?"

"I don't know," Cress mumbled.

"I don't either."

"I'm gonna go then," she said quickly, pointing at the door. "Thank you—thank you for everything. Really."

For an instant, he seemed disappointed. Then he smiled his gorgeous, dimpled smile. "It was really my pleasure, Cress. See you Monday?"

"See you Monday." She pushed open the door to her apartment and rushed inside.

She breathed heavily as she shut the door behind her and leaned against it to collect herself. She had nearly kissed Thorne. _Hadn't she?_

No, Thorne had nearly kissed her.

Carswell Thorne had nearly kissed her.

A quiet cough jerked her back to reality. Kesley stood by the elevator with his hands clasped behind his back, a vacant expression on his face.

She righted herself, drawing her shoulders back and trying to pretend like she wasn't full of a dizzying array of emotions that included want, confusion, delirium, lust, and elation.

Kesley pressed the elevator button. His shades were still on, but she was sure that he was giving her a _look_.

"Oh hush," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

When Cress got to work on Monday, her office was boarded up for repairs. Jerry put her in a storage closet without windows for the time being, apologizing about the lack of light but saying that it would only be a temporary situation. Someone had also installed manual locks on the door beyond the regular security codes.

She had a smaller desk, but brand-new hardware and her old, gigantic monitor. It wasn't a terrible workspace, though slightly introducing of claustrophobia and in far, far back of Satellite Technologies. She missed being able to see everyone walk by, especially when she had arrived early in order to be present when Thorne came in.

She did not get any work done before the 10 a.m. staff meeting. That was because she was suddenly the most popular employee at Satellite Technologies. Apparently, it was no secret where Cress's new makeshift office was located, nor that there had been a break-in on Friday. Employee after employee streamed into her closet unannounced, asking her all sorts of personal questions.

"What was it like to be held at gunpoint?"

"Did your life flash before your eyes?"

"Have you figured out who it is? Jerry won't say, but I know you've already figured it out."

And then there were the questions about Thorne.

"What's he like under duress?"

"I heard he was the one that was held at gunpoint, not you. Did he try to sacrifice himself for you?"

"Julian said Carswell threw himself on top of you. What was that like?"

The last question came from Luisa in the marketing department. She had meandered into Cress's closet space very casually, unlike the other employees who had rushed in without even saying hello. Luisa was sitting in the tiny chair in front of Cress's desk now, blinking innocently but very, very curiously.

Though she had received a series of similar questions just within the last hour, she got a strange feeling that she needed to be careful around Luisa. She had not yet told anyone except Julian that she had spent Saturday with him, and it seemed to be the only information that Julian had not shared with the entire company.

"I don't really remember," she said. "It all went so fast."

"Really?"

Cress regarded Luisa suspiciously. "Really."

"Huh."

Now it was Cress's turn to blink, as Luisa was watching Cress with disbelieving eyes. "What?"

"It's nothing."

"Okay."

Luisa folded one long, spidery leg over the other. "It's just he's so hot." She waited, as if expecting Cress to agree. When Cress just sat there, trying to think of the best way to respond, Luisa added, "I'd love his body on top of mine."

Cress drew back, startled at the Luisa's abrupt and inappropriate confession. She was used to Julian joking about these sorts of innuendos, and she could not argue that her fantasies had taken her there a few times, but Luisa stated it as if it were as common a thing to say as anything. Cress had heard some of her college friends speak about guys this way, but it was usually after they had had a bit to drink and their inhibitions about their true feelings were removed.

In some of the shows she watched, girl talk often included this type of frank conversation as well, but Cress didn't want to have girl talk with Luisa. She didn't even know Luisa.

And in this small space, she was starting to feel like she was in a cramped investigation room.

"Oh. That's what you mean," said Cress. "I think that if you were in a stressful situation that would probably be the last thing that would come to your mind. Survival instincts take over."

It was not entirely true, because Cress had replayed the moment on Friday night when Thorne had held her close under the desk over and over in her mind. But hearing the way Luisa mentioned closeness under those circumstances made it feel cheap. She hadn't wanted more from Thorne in the moment, she told herself, it was just the concept of having him so physically close to her.

And then there was the almost-kiss. Thorne had been so physically close to her then, too, and it had not been because they were about to die or because she was shaking so much that he needed to console her and keep her quiet. She had thought that he had wanted to kiss her.

But he hadn't.

He also hadn't called her later that night or the following day.

Not that she was expecting him to call. She had been hoping that he would call, because if he _had_ called then that would have meant that he really had wanted to kiss her and might be calling to find out if she might be interested in going on a date with him.

Something simple like that.

But it was not simple at all, and in reality she didn't even know if Thorne had her phone number. She had his business card, but she had never bothered to give him hers. Not that she had one that listed her personal number, which was actually the same number that Jerry would call if he needed something, as she was not in the business of client relations like Thorne. There really was no way for Thorne to call her even if he wanted to.

But maybe he didn't want to. Maybe she had imagined the entire thing. She was doubting herself this morning especially, because unlike everyone else, Thorne had not stopped by her "office" to wish her a good morning. She wondered if he was being bombarded by questions too and simply hadn't had the time.

Guys had three days to get in touch if they were interested, right?

Or was that after a first date?

Stars, why had she not bothered to go on at least one date this year, if only to just keep up with the current ways of dating?

She realized as she thought these things—and tried to act natural around Luisa—that she was probably going a little crazy.

"Survival instincts, hmm." Luisa ran a hand through her hair, thinking. "Did anything happen between you and Carswell after your survival instincts died down?"

"What…what do you mean?" she stuttered. Had Julian to hold everyone that she had slept over at Thorne's?

"Let me be blunt, Cress. In my experience, when two people go through a...a scary event like that…and those two people are—attractive, let's say, why it's easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment, isn't it?" She tilted her head knowingly at Cress.

"N-no, there was no, um, heat."

Luisa finally smiled and clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, thank the stars. Carswell and I had a date planned for Saturday, you know." Her smile turned haughty for an instant, but then she settled her shoulders. "He called me abruptly beforehand to say that he couldn't go anymore, indicating that he was rather shaken up after Friday's events. It was quite rude, as I had already booked a reservation at Peronini's and everything, but I suppose after the ordeal he went through I can't blame him. When everyone was talking about your daring brush with death this morning, I had to come see for myself whether or not he had canceled on me for another reason."

Cress nodded, trying to convey with her eyes that the situation had indeed been traumatic. She did not want to convey, however, that Thorne hadn't really seemed too shaken up on Saturday, nor that the reason he canceled the date may have been because of Cress herself.

"Do you think you and Carswell have gotten closer because of this incident?"

She did not like the way Luisa said the name _Carswell_ , as if she was above calling him Thorne. It was possessive but also confusing: Thorne had said he liked to be called Thorne. Was that only true for people he wasn't romantically interested in?

"Oh, yes, well, there's nothing like being nearly killed to bring two people together. But I mean together as in, um, collegial-like togetherness…you know."

"Of course, of course. That would make you instant buddies, I'm sure."

"Buddies. Right…"

"Given your new _friendship_ with Carswell, then, I don't suppose you could remind him to give me a call when he's feeling better?"

Oh.

She had not been expecting that, not after everything that Luisa had said. There was no way that she was going to encourage Thorne to go out with Luisa after the amazing day that she had had with him on Saturday. Now she felt like she had lied to Luisa, when really she hadn't. Luisa had not asked if she had a crush on Thorne. It _was_ true that nothing had happened between them.

She did not need to know that something almost had.

That is, if Cress had really picked up on Thorne's flirting, and had not been imagining it.

"I don't think I'm that close to him that my suggestions would hold any weight," she hedged. "If he asked you out then I'm sure he would want to ask you out again."

For the first time, Luisa's confidence seemed to wane. She pulled on her hair again, this time to flip it over her shoulder. It was black and raven-like, probably dyed, but wondrously shiny, like in a commercial. "He didn't ask me out. I asked him on the first day before anyone else could do it. You know a guy like that is not going to remain single for long."

"I suppose not."

Cress had to admit that she was pleased that it was Luisa who had asked for a date and not Thorne.

"Us women have to look out for each other, don't we?" Luisa got to her feet. She drew herself up with a renewed sense of confidence. "Well, thanks for the chat. I'll see you at the staff meeting at ten."

Cress watched Luisa and her legs leave the room, wondering if this was the type of woman that Thorne usually dated. Since Luisa had said that she had asked Thorne out already on the first day, then Thorne certainly hadn't had much to go off besides her looks. It was certainly the impression that he had given off when she had first met him, with his whole Greek God look, so she didn't know why she somehow expected more of him now.

With a sudden realization, Cress grabbed her phone and began to scroll through her conversation with Julian. To her dismay, she remembered that she had deleted all of the previous messages they had exchanged while she was at Thorne's house on Friday. Julian had sent her a picture last week when they were at the Electric Mirage. If she remembered correctly, the picture had showed a blurry Thorne dancing with someone. Julian had said that could have been her.

Had that been Luisa? Maybe Thorne really had gotten to know her more that night.

She considered hacking into her own phone records to retrieve the picture. It would take a bit of effort, but it could certainly yield some results if she put her mind to it.

She drummed her fingers along her desk, feeling creepy. She might have been blessed with technology skills that classified her as a prodigy, but she had never abused those skills. At least, not since college or high school, where she may or may not have been involved in more than a few all-night hacking competitions.

They were all for good Samaritan purposes, though.

Of course.

This was not. This was on par with stalking.

She could casually ask Julian if Luisa had been the one to dance with Thorne that night. Julian would be more than happy to share that kind of information. He would certainly be on Team Cress over Team Luisa, after all.

* * *

The large meeting room was abuzz at 10 a.m., unlike normal Mondays when the employees at Satellite Technologies tended to be rather subdued from the weekend. Cress had her tablet in her arms, trying to keep her head down to avoid more attention. She just wanted to find Julian and go back to being mostly invisible at work.

The second she entered the room, Ryan was in her face. "Cress! How are you? I heard about everything. You should have called me! You know you can call me if you ever need to talk, right? I'm available if you ever need a friend, or a shoulder to cry on, or—"

"Excuse me, Cress and I have very important date with that chair over there," said Julian, grabbing Cress's arm and pulling her away without another word. He held her arm firmly and dragged her to the conference table, where Cress's eyes suddenly landed on Thorne, who was sitting at the far end of the table. On one side was Luisa, but there were two empty seats on the other side of him.

He looked way too attractive for a Monday morning.

"Sorry I didn't come say hi this morning," Julian whispered, "but I've been doing some recon work on your behalf. And guess who saved us some seats?"

Cress had to stop herself from smiling. Thorne had saved the seat! For her!

Thorne only offered a polite nod, however, and kept talking to Luisa when Cress sat down next to him. A small feeling of dread washed over her as she took in the back of his head. She swallowed hard and turned to Julian instead. He merely raised his eyebrows at her.

"Good morning, everyone," came Jerry's voice. "Let's all have a seat. I know you've all heard the news about the terrible events that occurred on Friday night by now. Let me assure you that we will find out who is behind this attack. Luckily for us, only a small portfolio of notes was stolen from the property."

His eyes fell on Cress and Thorne, as if to remind them about confidentiality, and Cress nodded once. She wondered if Mrs. Williams, who was also from corporate, had been briefed by someone about what really had been stolen. Jerry had said that she knew about the project as well, after all.

Jerry continued to point out some of the new security measures they were taking.

"How are you, Cress?" Thorne whispered suddenly, leaning casually to the left so his head was not far from hers, but still facing forward.

Cress felt a deep blush begin on her neck. "Good," she whispered back.

"How was the rest of your weekend? Any nightmares?"

Luckily, Cress had not remembered any of her dreams except for the one where she had kissed Thorne. Her blush intensified. "None."

She caught him looking at her out of the corner of his eye, a small smile forming on his lips. "Glad to hear it."

"Cress!" said Jerry loudly.

Cress jumped. "Yes?"

"I said, is there anyone you would like to work with as we begin our own investigation as to who this masked woman was? Mrs. Williams, perhaps?"

Cress glanced at Mrs. Williams, knowing that she was the one Jerry wanted her to work with. Since Mrs. Williams knew about the secret project, then she was the best choice because she also worked in tech support.

"I'll work with Julian," she said instead. Julian didn't need to know what the moon portfolio was or why the woman had been there. All that mattered was that he would certainly help her track the woman down. She trusted Julian's skills, and not Mrs. Williams's.

Jerry frowned, but seem to accept it, and moved on with the meeting.

Cress leaned back in her chair, hoping that Thorne would continue to whisper to her, but he was now leaning to the right, probably whispering to Luisa.

* * *

She did not see Thorne for the next two days, except for the casual nod of a hello when passing each other randomly in the hallways, which wasn't often. Cress spent the majority of her time with Julian, as Jerry had given her special permission to ignore the government project and try to find out who had breached Satellite Technology premises. Jerry was extremely frazzled over the entire thing, and sweating much more than usual, if that was possible.

The only headway that Cress made, however, was to discover that Thorne had danced with many women that night at the Electric Mirage. Julian could not remember if one of them had been Luisa, but he had confirmed that she had been there that night.

"Don't worry," he said on the second day. "Straight guys have trouble expressing their emotions. He spent all of Saturday with you when he didn't have to, Cress. And he canceled his date with Luisa because of you. I'm sure of it."

"It was a crazy weekend. That situation would never have happened if this woman wouldn't have broken in."

"But it did happen."

She shook her head. "You only think that he likes me based on what I told you."

"No, honey, I saw the way that he watched the door in the meeting room on Monday morning. He couldn't wait to see you."

Cress just shrugged. "Let's keep working. Jerry says I have to go back to regular work tomorrow."

* * *

On Thursday morning, Thorne was waiting for Cress in front of her closet office. By that time, she was feeling slightly resentful towards him for not saying more than a word to her all week. Despite that, she had accepted that he was not interested in her at all and that she had clearly misread any signs on Saturday.

"Oh, it's you," she said, brushing past him to type in her security code and beginning to open the four locks that Jerry had installed.

"Hey," he said, leaning against the wall. "How are you?"

"Fine." She wished she could open the locks more quickly, but supposed that this was the point of them. She opened the door and sped across the five feet that separated the door from her desk.

As she sat down in her chair, Thorne entered behind her, letting the door swing shut and enveloping them in darkness.

"I forgot to turn on the light," she squeaked.

There was the distinct noise of Thorne's hand rubbing across the wall to find the light switch. Oh, how she missed her office where she could command the room with a swipe across her keyboard.

The lights turned on, revealing Thorne standing there, looking as perfect as ever. She tried not to stare at him.

"I know it's only been a few days, but I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," he said.

He remained standing in front of the door, and she wondered if he also realized just how small and intimate this space was.

When Cress didn't say anything, he added, "I was sort of hoping you would stop by to say hi. I would have, but I know you've been extremely busy with trying to track down that woman. I didn't want to bother you, and I figured if you had time, you would've stopped by for some chocolate." For a minute, he looked extremely small in front of the door, but then straightened. "I saw Julian just now so I figured I'd catch you before you get back to work."Any leads?"

It had not occurred to Cress that Thorne might be waiting for her to acknowledge him first. If he was, that did not seem very fair, especially when she had no idea that this was his line of thinking. Most of her resentment fell away, though. His words made so much sense, especially when he had been the first to say that his whole reason for being in San Diego was to support her work.

"No, but I will find her. That's a guarantee."

Thorne smiled. "I wouldn't expect any less of you."

Their eyes clashed and held for far too long, and Cress hated that moments like this made her believe that Thorne was interested in her. During these moments, she didn't feel crazy.

"Jerry told me to go back to working on government project," she said quickly, looking down at her desk. "That's my primary focus at least, even if I'm going to keep looking for that woman without Jerry knowing."

"Great. Is there anything I can help you with? For the project?"

"Not at the moment."

He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well then, I'll leave you to your work. I hope you'll stop by sometime if you get a craving."

He grinned his dimpled grin and Cress melted all over again as he left the closet. She definitely had to stop by his cubicle now. Only her craving was not for chocolate, but once again for him.

As the door swung shut behind him, Cress imagined pulling him back into the closet, shutting off the lights, and kissing him the way she had in her dream.


	11. Chapter 11

Her office wasn't back to normal by the end of the week, and neither was her routine. Cress was starting to feel scatterbrained and secretive. When she wasn't working on the government project, which she had now nicknamed the Moon Project in her head, she was still searching for the elusive thief.

She was working so much more than she ever had, locking herself in the windowless closet for hours at a time and not letting visitors besides Jerry enter.

Not that anyone was trying to enter.

Cress had quickly learned that after the first few days of excitement, no one cared anymore about what she was doing or how she was. Rather, Thorne had quickly become the star of the office.

She knew this because Julian texted her about it, and because the few times she had left her office closet she had headed in the general direction of Thorne's cubicle, hoping to get catch him alone while picking up some chocolate.

He had invited her to stop by, after all. Encouraged her, even.

But there was always at least one other person by his desk whenever she passed it.

She always headed straight for the bathroom, pretending like that was all she had intended to do from the beginning. It was probably a good thing that Thorne was busy, though, because it really gave her the opportunity to focus on her work with a new intensity.

Cress _had_ to figure out the identity of the woman who had attacked them. If Jerry wouldn't give her the time officially, then she would do it covertly, on her own time.

She had even sent the voice pattern of the woman to a friend of hers from college who still attended some of the same conferences as she did. If she couldn't figure this out, and he couldn't either, then no one could.

The pads of her fingertips were cracked and raw by the end of each day from her furious typing.

After countless hours at the office, when everyone had left, Cress would send Kesley a text message letting him know to come pick her up. He was always there within the minute, as if he had been waiting right outside the entrance to Satellite Technologies. She tried not to think about that, and imagined that he at least headed to the cafeteria to get himself lunch and dinner each day.

He had his own car and he insisted on driving Cress whenever she didn't have a ride, which was always.

It was strange, having a makeshift chauffeur all of a sudden. When she worked late, however, it was kind of nice to be able to fall asleep in the back of the car and know that she would be home when she opened her eyes again.

She had only seen Kesley's replacement twice in the last week, when she had arrived at her house after 11 PM. His name was Strom and he was even scarier-looking than Kesley, because at least Kesley was handsome. His handsomeness cancelled out some of the intimidation factor that accompanied his stern expression, wild hair, and massive bulk of a body. Strom's lack of general handsomeness gave him the appearance of a werewolf, if ever there was such a thing.

She was secretly glad that Kesley was the one to greet her in the morning when she left her apartment.

Kesley only spoke to her when absolutely necessary. Usually, he just stared at her with his deep, green eyes, making her feel like he knew her inside and out.

Whenever she addressed him regarding anything that wasn't strict bodyguard business (such as locations, times, and whereabouts), he would either nod, stare straight ahead, or shake his head.

One day in the car, she hummed the tune to _Secret Agent Man_ , hoping to get a reaction out of him.

She thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

* * *

" _Got_ you!" Cress breathed, slamming her fists on the desk in victory.

She threw open the door to her closet and ran out into the hallway. Not even bothering to check and see who was with Thorne at the moment, she reached his cubicle in mere seconds.

He was hunched over his desk, face scrunched up in concentration as he stared at his screen. The stick of a lollipop dangled out of his mouth.

"Thorne!" she said breathlessly.

He startled out of his stupor, jerking upward with wide eyes. The lollipop dropped out of his mouth and landed on the desk. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed the lollipop as if it were a snake and threw it in the trashcan. "Aces, Cress! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," she said, trying to steady her breathing.

He smoothed down his tie and regarded her curiously. "What's up?"

"I found her."

"Found who?"

Cress leaned over the desk, tilting her head down. Thorne raised his eyebrows but lowered his head as well. "The woman who attacked us," she whispered.

It felt like slow motion, almost like when Cress's hair had gotten tangled in Thorne's zipper: his breath of excitement against her face...her eyes flicking over to see his eyes widened with awe...his chin smacking against her forehead.

"Ow," she said.

"Sorry, sorry," Thorne said, reaching for her head at the same time that she began to rub her temple.

His hand brushed over hers before he retracted it like lightning. He flexed his fingers as if he had been burned. Cress continued to rub the sore spot by her temple, wondering if something about her hand had freaked him out.

She had rather hoped that he had felt the same shock of desire course through him the way that it had just coursed through her at his touch.

As much as she liked to fantasize, it was unlikely. It was nearing the end of the day on Tuesday, and she knew her hair was frazzled into knots and her makeup was probably smudged from all the time she had spent leaning on her hands and rubbing her face tiredly while she stared into her screens.

"So you were saying, you found her?"

"Oh!" she said. "Yes! It took a lot longer than I thought, maybe because she was actually altering her voice with voice alternating software and I didn't even pick up on it because I had heard her voice and so I assumed it was hers! Then I started thinking—"

"Cress? Slow down! Let's go see Jerry."

"Right! He doesn't know that I've been working on this as much as I have, though, so if you could perhaps _not_ mention it—"

"Yeah, of course, no problem," he said, already beginning to walk. She had to jog to keep up with him as he made his way towards Jerry's office. He snapped his fingers at Mrs. Williams on the way. "Laaj, we've got news."

Soon, the three of them were crammed into her closet office. Mrs. Williams and Jerry huddled around her desk while Thorne stood directly behind her, leaning over her shoulder to get a good look at the woman. She could feel his breath again, the tickle of air against the bottom of her neck.

She swallowed and pulled up the data. "Her name is Sybil Mira. She is thirty-seven years old and has a prior criminal record."

"I can imagine the type of jobs she's pulled," said Thorne.

Cress wanted to ask what he meant by that, because Sybil Mira looked like a model even in her mug shot, with silky, raven black hair, pointed cheekbones and gray eyes. As Cress pulled up more information from the files she had unearthed after finding her criminal records, she said, "It looks like she's had extensive plastic surgery since this picture was taken. It's unclear what she looks like now."

"I can guess," Thorne muttered.

"Cress, did you isolate her purchase of the voice alternating software?" Jerry wiped his forehead nervously. "How can we be sure this is her voice?"

"Jerry, this is the part where I tell you that I may or may not have used unconventional methods to uncover this information. The less you know, the better."

"Would it hold up in court?" asked Mrs. Williams.

"Yes, I believe so," Cress said. "I can work around it. Now that I know who it is, we should be able to get a match on the type of weapon that she owns."

"If she bought it on the black market there would be no record of that, though," Thorne said.

"No transactions that involve money these days are really off the record. I'm sure I can trace it." Cress was confident that she could find out anything about Sybil Mira now.

"I'm sure if you're sure," said Thorne, nodding next to her, his cheek mere inches from hers. It was only then that she noticed his arms on her desk outside of her arms. He was standing there, not just leaning over her shoulder, but encircling her whole body with his, like a cage. If she only moved a few inches in either direction, their arms would touch.

"Very well," said Jerry. "Cress, send me over the information. Mr. Thorne, contact Corporate and let them know what's going on. Mrs. Williams, you can come with me and we will contact the police."

Thorne drew himself up. Jerry and Mrs. Williams rounded the desk to face her.

"And Cress, I want your full attention back on the government project."

"But—"

"I know you're brilliant. I know we wouldn't have found her if it weren't for you. But by the looks of it, you've probably been pulling all-nighters again, haven't you?"

Cress's mouth dropped open, but she shut it again quickly. "No. I've been leaving…on time."

Jerry put his hands on his hips. "Our surveillance data says otherwise. Cress, the hours that you're not sleeping are hindering you from cracking this government project. The three of us in this room are here to support you. Mrs. Williams and Mr. Thorne flew all the way from _Chicago_ to support you. That's how important this project is. We need you giving 100% on this project and not distracting yourself by trying to track down this woman or not getting enough sleep."

"I'm—I'm sorry," she stuttered, thankful that Thorne was standing behind her and couldn't see her mortified expression. Her indignation grew. "It's not every day that I have a gun pointed at me. In fact, it's never happened before! I couldn't just let her get away!"

She drew in a sharp breath when she felt Thorne's hand lightly against her back. Instinctively, she knew what he was trying to say: _Calm down. It's okay_.

"I know you're upset," Jerry continued, as if the hottest guy in the world wasn't burning a hole through Cress's shirt from his touch. "And I repeat: I'm glad you found her. I just need you to step up your work on this project. I gave you some allotted time last week, and I'm glad you used it productively, but I've got Corporate breathing down my back. We need this deal to turn out in our favor."

"I'll step up my work."

"I know you will," said Jerry. "And I think to make sure that you stay on track, you should have more frequent meetings with Mr. Thorne."

Thorne's hand left her back.

"But I work better by myself! If I have frequent meetings with Thorne, how will I get anything done?"

"I only mean meetings to check in and give daily updates. Even if you don't have an update that day, knowing that you have to give an update may motivate you to stay on track. We can't lose momentum on this project. Sybil Mira has already cost us two weeks." He gestured at Mrs. Williams. "Remember, you have tech support if you need it."

"Daily meetings? That's not fair."

Behind her, Thorne coughed then spoke in an official voice. "I'll make sure they're painless and don't take up too much of your time, Miss Darnel."

_Miss Darnel._

"Wonderful!" said Jerry. "Now, we all have things to work on. Let's get moving."

Cress sat back in her chair as Mrs. Williams and Jerry left her office. Jerry didn't trust her anymore. But why not? She had used unconventional methods before to find specific details she needed for projects, and Jerry had always looked the other way. And she hadn't even told him just how much time she had spent on finding Sybil Mira versus the project.

Stupid surveillance cameras.

Thorne lingered in the doorway. "So, when do you want to have the first meeting? Today?" He checked his watch.

Another meeting with Thorne today? She wasn't sure if she could handle that. She wasn't even sure she could handle the implications of professionally meeting Thorne every day, let alone the emotional rollercoaster that would surely accompany those meetings.

"Jerry doesn't trust me to get this done," she said quietly, fixing her eyes on her desk instead of him. "And there's no need for a meeting today. I have nothing to report."

Thorne came to stand in front of her desk. "Hey, there's no reason to be down. Jerry trusts you. He's just nervous. Do I wish that you had already figured out what's wrong with the project I'm here for? Of course. But life happens, Cress, even to the best of us. If anyone understands that, it's me. I was there with you. And I think we should celebrate that you figured out who attacked us."

"Thanks. I call it the Moon Project," she mumbled.

Thorne crinkled his brow before an easy smile returned to his face. "Oh, because of that folder? That's fitting. The Moon Project it is. Now, what do you say we go have a drink?"

Heat rushed her face as she absorbed his words. "A—a drink? Now?"

"It's almost 5:30. Happy hour is getting happy without us." He grinned so charmingly that Cress couldn't say no, even if she knew that getting a drink with him would lower her inhibitions and possibly make her say something silly in front of him.

Like the fact that she thought he was dreamy.

"I'm not a big drinker," she said instead.

He nodded. "How about dinner, then?"

She stared at him.

"You know, to celebrate our victory against the evil villain," he added, looking slightly less sure of himself at her hesitation. "Work hard, play hard, remember?"

"O-oh, of course." She tried to regain her composure. "Of course I'll go to dinner with you."

His smile turned relieved. "Great! There's a place I've been wanting to try. Let me just grab my things and we'll be off. Why don't you let Kesley know where we're going?"

"Okay."

He strolled out of her close office, whistling, not realizing that he hadn't told her at all where they were going. She texted Kesley anyway, choosing her words wisely:

_I'm going to a dinner meeting with a colleague. We're leaving now._

That's all this was, after all.

A dinner meeting.

Between colleagues.

Nothing to get excited about.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another beast of a chapter. They are fun but time consuming to write! It just so happens that this coincides with the TLC Ship Weeks theme today for Home. Makes sense if you keep reading :P

"Well, isn't this exciting!" Thorne said eagerly as the hostess showed them to their private booth at Fiametta's Italian Bistro. "I can't believe we got a table!"

 _Impressive_ was more like it. It was nearly impossible to get a reservation at Fiametta's, which they had learned at the door, but there had been a surprise cancellation that night, and Cress and Thorne had arrived precisely at the right time to claim their spot. The extremely large tip, dazzling smile, and sweet talk that Thorne had given the hostess had also helped their situation.

As Thorne slid into the booth, the hostess shifted her eyes to Thorne once before giving Cress an all-knowing smile and wink. She let the see-through netted curtain fall behind her and left the two of them alone.

Cress glanced around the room. "I'm feeling a little under-dressed."

Fiametta's ceiling was covered in sparkly, star-like lights to offset the dim room, making it seem like they were sitting outside on a terrace rather than inside a building. The voice of a lone, haunting melody sung in Italian floated around them. The netted curtain provided privacy amidst the darkness. Through it, she could barely make out the other customers, but the women she had seen as they had entered the restaurant had worn long evening gowns.

"Me too," said Thorne, pulling uncomfortably on his tie. "I heard this was one of the best restaurants in San Diego, but perhaps I should have done more research beforehand on the attire." His eyes settled on Cress. He gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders. "But no matter. I think you look stunning."

Cress's heart hitched. She bit her lip and looked down at her place setting to avoid his eyes and realized that this was the type of restaurant that had more than two forks.

It was hard to fathom why Thorne would say she was _stunning_ when she had seen how frumpy she looked after spending all day in her closet office. She had, at least, managed to wipe away the smudges on her face and freshen up in the bathroom before they had left Satellite Technologies.

Thorne coughed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be so forward. I was just trying to be nice."

Cress looked up, sure that her cheeks were red. "No, it's—it's fine. Thank you. I think you look really nice too."

Thorne seemed to straighten up at her words. He gestured at the booth. "So, what do you think about these seating arrangements? Are we supposed to sit across from each other like this or sit next to each other? The table is kind of big."

Their table was circular, like it was meant to accommodate more than just two people. The tablecloth was a crisp, satiny white beneath a constellation of candles that floated in vases filled with water. The flickering lights illuminated Thorne's face and, combined with the curtain around them, made it feel like they were the only two people in the restaurant.

She imagined him sliding over to her, huddled close, their legs in danger of touching if either of them moved their positioning. "It is. Why don't you sit there?" She pointed at a spot to her right, which was closer than he was now, but still at a safe distance. "That way we don't have to turn our necks to look at each other."

Thorne chuckled, but scooted over.

"What?"

He chuckled again. "Nothing. Sometimes I don't have a filter on the whole brain-mouth thing and I almost said something stupid. I caught myself this time."

"Oh." She was surprised to learn that he sometimes felt like what he was saying was stupid too. "That happens to me a lot as well. Only I don't catch myself."

"I haven't heard you say anything stupid yet. In fact, I usually feel pretty stupid around you." Her face fell, and he was quick to raise his hand. "Oh no, I don't mean that you make me feel stupid. I mean, not intentionally. It's just, you know, you're a prodigy and all. From the conversations we have, I get the feeling that I'm probably not going to grasp most of what you tell me during our"—he made air quotes—" _daily meetings_."

"Maybe there are different kinds of smart," she said shyly. "I think you're smart with people. It seems like you have a good grasp of how to get people to like you. You make them feel comfortable."

He shrugged. "That's part of my job."

"But not everybody has that ability. I think I make people feel awkward."

Thorne stared at her for a moment and then let out a good-natured laugh. "Really? You're not making me feel awkward right now."

Cress looked down at the table again. "Good," she mumbled. "That would be a first."

"Hey." She felt a finger against her chin and her eyes widened as Thorne, scooting closer, tilted her head up. He withdrew his hand as soon as her eyes met his. They were soft and kind. "There's nobody else I would rather be having dinner with right now, Cress."

Afraid that her eyes would give away her feelings, she grabbed the napkin from the table and put it on her lap. "See what I mean? You're good at making people feel comfortable." She hoped her voice was full of the chirpiness she was trying to convey and not the desire and nerves she was feeling.

"That's not what I meant—"

An elderly waitress pulled back the curtain and stepped into their booth. "And have we decided on what we're going to order tonight, darlings? Can I start you two off with an appetizer or some drinks?"

Thorne moved back into his spot and picked up his menu. "I haven't had a chance to look yet, but do you have a house wine that you recommend?"

"We have a selection of house wines, of course. Is there anything in particular that you enjoy?"

"We're celebrating tonight. Anything that says celebration is what I want." He shot the waitress one of his charming smiles that usually made Cress melt.

The waitress clasped her hands together. "Wonderful. Why don't you decide what you want to eat and then we'll have our wine concierge bring you the perfect matching wine. Here at Fiametta's we compliment ourselves on pairing wine with food. But if you are celebrating, then why not start out with our signature champagne?" She finally looked at Cress. "If that's okay with your wife."

"No," said Cress quickly, "we're not—"

"—married," Thorne finished. "We're celebrating a work victory."

"Ah, forgive me. I assumed you meant you were celebrating your anniversary. We have so many couples in here for their special day."

"We're not even together," Cress corrected. "We're just colleagues."

"Right," said Thorne.

"My mistake. Would you still like some champagne?"

"Sure, okay, that's fine," said Cress, hoping the waitress would just leave already.

"That's a yes on the champagne," said Thorne. "We'll figure out what we want to eat while you get that."

She left them, and Cress thought she heard Thorne sigh. She focused on her menu, trying to figure out what she could order that she could simultaneously enjoy but not spill all over herself.

"I think I'm going to go with the ravioli in the walnut cream sauce." Thorne closed his menu. "Sounds like a strange combination but what's the point in living if you don't try something new from time to time?"

Cress flipped from page to page, going back and forth between dishes.

"This dinner is on me, in case that helps you decide." Thorne slapped his work credit card on the table with a sly grin.

"I need to get one of those from Jerry," Cress murmured.

The crab linguine looked amazing, but then her breath would probably smell like crab later. And long noodles could easily splatter with one wrong spin of a fork. She had considered the ravioli as well, but then it seemed like she was copying Thorne. Maybe the lasagna would be a good idea. Would Thorne think that she didn't like trying new things if she ordered that?

She shook her head. She was not going to order something just to impress him. "I'm getting the lasagna," she said firmly.

"Oh, I was thinking about that. Looks good. Do you want to split an appetizer with me?"

"I'm not that hungry, but I would probably eat a little of it."

"The calamari looks good. But I was thinking that might give me bad breath." He shot a glance at Cress, and she tried to figure out if there was meaning in it.

She bit her lip. "We wouldn't want that."

His eyes trailed her face. "No, we wouldn't." He returned to the menu. "Appetizer special?"

She nodded.

The waitress returned with their champagne and took their orders.

Thorne lifted his flute to Cress. "To Cress Darnel, the most brilliant person I've ever met."

Cress clinked her glass to his, her face flushed. "And to Carswell Thorne, for saving my life."

"Saving your life?"

"Under the desk. I wouldn't have made it through that situation without you."

"Funny. I was thinking the same thing."

Cress took a sip of her champagne. The flavor of it burst against her tongue delightfully, and she sipped more. She was not used to drinking, but there wasn't any harm in having a little champagne. She could pass on the wine later.

Thorne put down his flute and eyed her curiously. "Are you seeing someone, Cress?"

Cress downed her glass and put it on the table shakily. "No, why do you ask?"

"Oh, just curious. We sort of broached the topic at the zoo, but I realized that I'd never actually asked you if you were seeing someone currently."

"No, I'm very single." _Oh no, now she was quoting Julian_. She rushed on, "What about you? I heard you were supposed to go on a date with Luisa." She tried to meet his eyes nonchalantly, as if she wasn't dying to know his thoughts on Luisa.

"Luisa?" Thorne scrunched up his brow. "I thought I had explained that."

"Explained what?"

"Nevermind. No, I don't want to go on a date with Luisa anymore."

_Anymore._

"She seems to really like you." What was she doing? She didn't want to encourage him to date Luisa.

Thorne took his champagne and spoke into his flute, barely audible, before taking another sip. "I know."

"So you're still not, you know, seeing anyone either?"

Thorne raised his eyebrows. "Nope. I'm also very single."

"Have you had a lot of relationships?"

"I don't know if I would call them _relationships_."

Cress, nodded knowingly. " _Ah_."

"What?"

She blushed. "Nothing."

"Uh-uh. You're not getting away with 'nothing _'_ after that ' _ah_.' You think I'm a player, don't you?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Sure it is."

"It's just…look at you." She waved at his body. "It's easy to make assumptions about a guy that looks like you. And then when you say that you wouldn't call whatever you had with girls in the past _relationships_ , it sort of…confirms that assumption."

"So you do think I'm attractive, then," he said, folding his arms with a slight smirk.

Cress wished she had more champagne. "Objectively, one could hardly argue otherwise."

He laughed. "Thanks. I do take pride in my appearance."

"I noticed."

"And here's the appetizer special for you two darlings," said the waitress. She placed a hot plate of bruschetta, dips, steaming white bread, mozzarella, and an assortment of meat in between Cress and Thorne. "Let me know if you need anything else." She filled up their water glasses and left them alone again.

Thorne picked up one of the small mozzarella balls with his fingers and popped it into his mouth. He closed his eyes like he was savoring the taste.

Cress took a bruschetta with her fork and knife, moving it delicately onto her plate. She sliced it with precision, knowing that she wouldn't be able to fit the entire thing into her mouth without making a mess. If she had known that she were going out to dinner with Thorne, she would have put some floss in her purse this morning. Now she had to concentrate on chewing carefully so little pieces of tomato and basil wouldn't get stuck in her teeth.

"I'm not a player, by the way," Thorne said. Cress's hands froze. "I do date, though. I'm still young and how will I ever meet anyone if I don't?"

"I really didn't mean that I _think_ you're a player. Just that it's easy to—"

"Right, it's easy to come to that conclusion, apparently, because I get that assumption a lot. I think if I were a player I would've hooked up with someone since moving to San Diego. And with Luisa throwing herself all over me this week, and Emily crushing on me for the last year, it would be all too easy to just hook up with one of them if that was all I wanted. But I'm not interested in them so I'm not going to do anything with them."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"I haven't been in many relationships because I move around a lot. I don't exactly see the point in starting something that I can't see through. Or maybe it's because there wasn't anyone I wanted to see it through with."

He grabbed an entire bruschetta with his hand and stuffed it into his mouth. As he chewed and looked at her pointedly, Cress realized that she hadn't even thought about the repercussions that frequent moves would have on dating. "But maybe if you meet someone special, you could figure out a way to make it work. There are thousands of people who are in long-distance relationships."

When he had swallowed and wiped his mouth, he said, "True. It would be hard, though. Wouldn't you want to wake up next to the person you love every day instead of only on some days?"

Cress took a piece of prosciutto. The salty flavor made her wrinkle her nose. She opted for a mozzarella ball instead. "That's assuming that you live together. Not everyone wants to do that. But maybe you'll meet someone only once and she takes your breath away so much that you're willing to change anything for her."

Thorne snorted. "As great as that sounds, I don't believe in love at first sight."

"Only because you haven't had it yet."

"Have you?"

"Well, no," she admitted. "I've seen someone, though, and thought that they could be the one." She had to drop her eyes, because if she had ever thought that about anyone, it was Thorne. And now that she knew that he wasn't a player, he was shaping up to be even more of her dream guy.

"That's just lust talking." Thorne wagged a finger at her. "You can't look at a person and decide that they are the one if you've never spoken to them. I mean, what if they have a scary voice?"

Cress started laughing as Thorne smirked at her.

"Seriously, though," he said, "all you can tell from someone by seeing them for the first time is what they look like. That is no indication of whether or not they could be the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with." He finished his champagne, tipping his head back.

"I still think love at first sight is possible."

"Fair enough." He moved closer to her and leaned his chin on his hand. "Do you think love at work is possible?" He raised an eyebrow at her, suggestive and cool at the same time.

Cress swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"Can two people fall in love at work, Cress?"

"W-why couldn't they?"

"All those rules on inter-office dating, Cress. Human Resources always makes their employees sign off on them. Satellite Technologies has policies about that as well.

"Oh, right."

Thorne was still staring at her. "It could be awkward, if it doesn't work out," he continued, his voice quieter now. "I think that's why they have all those rules in place. And what if it was someone who was in a supervisory role? Wouldn't it seem…inappropriate...if he asked her out?"

His eyes flickered to her mouth.

Cress tried to keep breathing evenly. Surely he _had_ to be talking about the two of them now. She couldn't be that daft as to misread his signals now. But that meant… _that meant_ that Thorne was interested in her too.

It took everything in her power not to melt into a puddle of Carswell Thorne feelings.

She licked her lips. "I think if both people are interested…it can't be that bad, right? I mean, who is HR to keep two people from being together? We're all"—her voice caught in her throat—"adults here."

"Good points," Thorne murmured. "But what if he doesn't know if she likes him too? What if he made a move and then she thinks he's a creep? A guy can get in serious trouble for sexual harassment at the workplace these days."

"I think," she whispered, her heart hammering in her ears, "it should be pretty obvious that she likes him too. And he could always, um, ask before making a move. Then he wouldn't catch her by surprise."

"Hmm," he said, shifting closer. He was sitting in that spot now, the one that she had considered dangerously close. "I think he's fairly certain, but maybe he isn't as confident as she might believe."

Cress grappled for her overactive imagination to help her form coherent words. They were pretending now—pretending like they were still talking about another couple. She was good at pretending, and as much as she was drowning in his presence, she knew he was telling her that he needed an extra boost of confidence to do so.

 _Carswell Thorne_ needed an extra boost of confidence to make a move on _her_ , Crescent Darnel.

"Thorne," she said. "I—"

She screamed as a rough hand grabbed her waist from behind and pulled her away from Thorne. Another hand muffled her scream, only unlike the way that Thorne had held her tenderly under the desk, this one gripped her mouth so hard she lost her breath.

She reached one arm out to Thorne, frantic to hold on to him as he reeled back in surprise. With the other she tried to fend off her attacker.

"Miss Darnel," a familiar, growling voice said into her ear. "You're in danger."

Kesley dragged her out of the booth, not letting go of her or her mouth.

Thorne scrambled out after them. "What the _fuck_ , man?"

"EVERYONE ON THE GROUND NOW!"

The sound of bullets riddling the air made the three of them dive to the ground. Kesley cradled Cress as they hit the floor. His body took the brunt of the impact, but her elbow still smacked into the wood with a _crack_.

Thorne pushed himself onto all fours. "What's happening? What's happening?" he whispered frantically.

"Masked men. Guns. We gotta move," said Kesley, finally letting go of Cress. "They're at the front of the restaurant, so—"

"NOBODY MOVES, NOBODY DIES!"

" _Cress_ ," Kesley whispered urgently, "I need you to move." He pointed straight ahead of her. "They're still at the front of the restaurant. Now _go_."

Cress crawled forward, adrenaline setting in as another shot sounded behind her. It was dark on the ground without the starry lights or candles to guide her between booths.

A chorus of screams and shouts followed.

She slipped and fell onto her elbows, but someone was there to urge her forward. She didn't know if it was Kesley or Thorne. She was too afraid to look back.

She crawled and crawled and soon she was in front of the swinging doors that led to the kitchen. And then someone was grabbing her again—Kesley—pulling her up and throwing her through the doors.

"OVER THERE!"

The sound of the men shouting was drowned out by the noise of the kitchen.

"Run, Cress!" was all she heard before she was sprinting around the cooks and dishes and steaming ovens. She went around the corner, knocking into a startled waiter. Pasta and plates smashed onto the ground.

She scrambled to keep going, muttering furious apologies.

Kesley and Thorne were yelling behind her, and there was another voice, and someone was shooting and—

Bullets.

So many bullets.

A shout of pain nearly paralyzed her.

She reached the door to the exit and flung her body against it. She was in a back alley behind the restaurant, but she didn't know where to go. She ran to the right, down the alley, around the corner, down another street.

Footsteps and labored breathing followed her wherever she went.

 _Someone_ was following her. He was right behind her!

He caught her arm. She cried out in fear and punched wildly.

"Cress! It's me!" Thorne said, wrapping her into his arms. He brought her to the ground with him, holding her and rocking her as the understanding that it was only Thorne made her cry.

"It's okay. We lost them. We lost them," he said.

Cress cried harder, staining his shirt with unladylike fluids.

"She okay?" Cress heard Kesley say above them.

"She is thanks to you," said Thorne. He held Cress closely to his chest. "Who were those guys?"

"Don't know. I need to put a call into my firm right away. And we should get Cress home immediately in case this has anything to do with her."

"I'd bet my salary it does," said Thorne, stroking Cress's hair. "It can't be a coincidence that we were at that restaurant when they attacked. Not when we just figured out that Sybil Mira is involved in this."

"But that quickly?" said Kesley.

"I don't want to work on this project anymore," Cress sobbed.

Thorne continued stroking her hair. "I'm freaked out too. Let's get you home and then we can talk about everything when we've had a chance to recover."

Cress nodded, fresh tears spilling over her cheeks. She looked up at Kesley, who was on the phone now. There was blood on the sleeve of his suit. "He's been shot!"

Thorne shook his head. " _He_ shot someone. It's blood splatter."

Horrified, Cress buried her face into his chest again. She startled when he kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, we're okay," he murmured into her hair.

A car pulled up, and Cress stiffened out of fear in Thorne's arms.

"It's our ride," he said.

"I'm not ready to go anywhere."

"Miss Darnel," said Kesley sternly. "I need you to get in the car right now. I know that this has been a terrifying twist of events but I need to do the job I was hired for. I can't guarantee your safety unless you get in that car."

As Thorne helped her to her feet, she realized they had been sitting next to a large dumpster. The car that Kesley wanted her to get into was a black SUV with tinted windows.

Kesley, phone still against his ear, held open the back passenger door for her.

She was wobbly on her legs but Thorne didn't let go of her until she had climbed into the car. A driver in shades with the same impeccable suit as Kesley sat there, but she did not recognize him. Thorne exchanged a few indistinguishable words with Kesley and then hopped into the back seat with her. As soon as Kesley got into the front passenger seat, they were off.

Nobody said anything on the ride back to her apartment. Kesley watched the news from the small screen that hung against the dash, but Cress couldn't focus. She clung to the door handle and tried to tune out the rest of the world. The air conditioning in the car was making her shiver, but she thought it might be the situation that was actually chilling her to the core.

This was the second time in three weeks that she had nearly died.

Was this really connected to the Moon Project?

When Kesley opened the door to the car in front of her apartment complex, she nearly tumbled out.

"Not to worry, Miss Darnel," he said, steadying her. "I've arranged for extra security outside of your apartment tonight. We will have two security personnel stationed outside of your door in the hallway and two men here at the entrance." He gestured at two men in suits standing in front of the building. "Now, this is just a precaution. The news is saying that this was an attempted robbery, but we take things seriously when we're protecting our clients. After we've verified what this was all about, things will probably go back to normal. In the meantime, be aware that the police may contact you. I'm going to give them all the details but they may want to follow up with you at some point since you were in the restaurant when the incident took place."

 _The_ _incident_.

"My man," said Thorne, "Satellite Technologies is going to be so glad they hired you." He pressed some bills into Kesley's hand. "Please get home safe and get some sleep."

"I will once Miss Darnel is safely in her apartment."

"Is it okay if I walk her up?"

"Of course." He turned to Cress. "If that's okay with you, Miss Darnel."

Cress hunched up her shoulders. "Yes. And now you can definitely call me Cress," she added, trying to sound relaxed like everyone else. "You did call me that in the restaurant."

Kesley's eyes crinkled into an amused smile. "I was under duress. It won't happen again, I can assure you."

Thorne let out a laugh that sounded somewhat forced, but Cress couldn't bring herself to even crack a smile.

Kesley and Thorne escorted Cress upstairs until Strom and another man she didn't recognize were leading her into her apartment. She stood in the living room, trying to move.

Trying to do anything.

All she could think about was how she had nearly died again. And Thorne—Thorne had nearly died again too.

"Cress?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. "I'm going to go home, okay? Strom and Wynn here aren't going to leave. If you need anything, you just let them know."

She nodded, feeling dazed and alone and paranoid.

He nodded too and turned to leave.

"Wait. Stay."

Thorne stopped.

"I know we still don't know each other very well, and we work together, and this is definitely inappropriate of me to ask, but _please_. Please stay. Please don't leave me alone in this apartment by myself after we both nearly died again. I can't handle being alone right now, even if I know that security is right outside my apartment." Her body was shaking uncontrollably by the time she got through all the words.

Thorne's eyes softened and he took a step toward her. "No, it's fine. Of course I'll stay."

She collapsed into his arms. He drew in a sharp breath but then hugged her back in a fierce embrace. It occurred to her that he was likely just as shaken up as her, only better at masking it.

When Strom and Wynn had locked the door behind them, Cress let go of Thorne and walked to her bedroom, feeling like a zombie. She took off her blazer and fell into bed as if the weight of the world had pushed her into it.

There was throat clearing, and then Thorne was standing in her doorway, looking hesitant. "So, how should we do this? Do you want me to take the couch or…?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

Cress shook her head, hoping that she hadn't misread his signals at the restaurant earlier. And if she had, she hoped that he would at least humor her because of what had happened.

"I don't want to sleep alone," she said.

Thorne spread his arms out against the doorframe and wet his lips. He scanned her, her room, the bed, and then finally settled his eyes back on her again.

"You're making me feel confident," he said, something heady in his voice.

"You should be," she whispered.

"We work together," he said, stepping into the room. He pulled on his tie, loosening it, before he took it off and threw it on the ground.

"I know."

"Our emotions are out of control right now from…from what happened."

"I know."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable at work."

She had never imagined being this bold with him, but she was tired and overwhelmed and scared about things that were so much bigger than a crush. A small tremble went through her body. "Do I make _you_ uncomfortable?"

"No. You make me nervous."

"Because you like me?"

Carswell Thorne dragged his thumb across his lower lip. "Yeah."

Cress sucked in a breath, her whole body trembling now. "Then help me fall asleep."

Thorne pulled his dress shirt over his head, revealing a white beater underneath and a physique that lived up to Cress's fantasies. He stumbled toward the bed with a dazed look on his face, like he couldn't grasp that this was happening and he thought she might change her mind any second.

Cress couldn't grasp that this was happening either.

But then he was lying down next to her, scooting under the covers, coming closer, closer, closer still…

He placed his hand over the dip of her waist and spooned her, drawing his knees up into the back of her knees, pressing his chest against her back, nuzzling his face into the crook between her neck and shoulder.

He was there—against her, with her, for her, touching her. Warmth filled her body. Tingles shivered down her skin. For a brief moment, she forgot her fears and let herself bask in the crazy truth that Carswell Thorne was holding her.

When she heard him remove his belt, the thought crossed her mind that he was expecting to do something besides sleep, but he just dropped it on the floor.

"Sorry, the metal clasp is going to stab one of us otherwise. It's uncomfortable to sleep in a belt."

He draped his arm over her waist and rested his hand over hers, covering it completely. They were connected everywhere now, she realized, and the thought wound her up and calmed her down at the same time. She stayed still, listening to his breaths match the rise and fall of his chest against her back.

"Thank you for being here," she finally said, feeling so full of emotion she thought she might burst. Tears wet her cheeks, but she didn't know any more if it was from being happy or sad.

He gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Of course."

She closed her eyes, not bothering to wipe away her tears. There would surely be more before she managed to reconcile the events of the evening in her mind. "I heard you and Kesley talking. Do you really think they were after me?"

"Don't think about that now," Thorne murmured against her neck. He lifted his hand and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, but was quick to grab her hand again. "Try to get some sleep."

"I have a million thoughts racing through my mind."

He brushed his lips over skin so lightly that she thought she had imagined it. "I promise nothing will happen while I'm here." There it was again—a kiss, light as a feather, right above her shoulder bone. "I'm here, Cress. And I'll still be here when you wake up."


	13. Chapter 13

When Cress woke up the next morning, Thorne wasn't there. She reached out behind her somewhat instinctively, but the spot next to her was cold and vacant. Mumbling, she rubbed her eyes and rolled over, thinking that he had just drifted away from her while sleeping.

When she saw that she was indeed alone in the bed, she scrunched up her face in thought. Had it all been a dream? She had been fantasizing about Carswell Thorne pretty much on autopilot since he had stepped into her life, but she couldn't be that far gone.

Cress slid to the edge of the bed and looked down. There was no discarded belt, no dress shirt deposited on the floor. She looked to the dresser. No wallet, no keys, nothing to indicate that he had ever been there.

A sudden, overwhelming sense of sadness filled her. If she hadn't imagined it, then he had left.

She tried not to think about him, his warmth, his skin, the kisses against her neck. It had been a brash decision on both of their parts to spend the night together, even if they had only slept.

It was already nine in the morning and she didn't know why her alarm hadn't gone off. She must have slept through it just like she slept through Thorne leaving. There was no way that she was going to work now. Not with the way she had been attacked last night, but especially not because it _would_ be uncomfortable now seeing him at work and trying to ask him why he had left.

She sat up and regarded herself: last night's work clothes and uncomfortable dimples in her skin from the buttons on her shirt. She shrugged out of her clothes and looked around for something comfortable to wear.

Yes, today was definitely a day to sit at home in pajamas, watch romantic movies that made her sob at her clearly unrequited love life, binge eat whatever was left over in her fridge, and rehash everything that had happened the night before.

Maybe even do a little research on Carswell Thorne's social media.

 _If_ she was in the mood.

She picked up an old pair of pajama shorts that had little rocket ships on them, which she had kept because they were faded and soft, not because she actually liked rocket ships anymore. Then she found a big shirt and added it to the shorts in her hand.

She dropped her clothes in the bathroom and turned on the shower. It was going to feel great to scrub off the night and all the emotions that had come with it, both good and bad. Maybe she could take a bath, even. She had just bought those new bath bombs and might as well put them to use.

Already feeling more relaxed, she opened her door to go figure out where she had put them, because she had definitely been too lazy to even take them out of the bag, let alone put them in her bathroom.

Cress nearly screamed as loud as she had when Kesley had grabbed her the night before. She slammed the door shut and breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling with her back against the door.

Thorne had not left at all. He was in her living room, sitting on the couch, and he might have just seen her in the nude.

Or at least...in just her panties. The ones with the laughing, dancing watermelons.

He had definitely looked up from the couch in that second that she had opened the door. Aces and spades and _stars_.

Carswell Thorne was still here. In her apartment. Just as he had promised.

It had never even occurred to her that he might be an early riser. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. It was hard not to feel horrible that she had immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was gone just because he wasn't in the bed.

"Have you been sitting there a long time?" she called lamely.

"About half an hour," came his voice through the door. "Made us some breakfast while you were sleeping."

Breakfast?

"Did you…did you see anything just now?"

There was a moment of silence. "Not much," he called, but it left Cress unconvinced and groaning.

This was what she got for having doubted him.

"Based on the combined scream and door slam," he continued with a muffled sound that she was sure was a covered laugh, "I'm guessing you didn't think I would still be here."

"No," she said indignantly, happy that he couldn't see her face. " _Of course_ I thought you would still be here."

There was more silence, then footsteps padded toward her. She sucked in a breath and grabbed at a discarded sweatshirt on the ground. But Thorne did not open the door. Rather, there was a soft thud, like he was leaning against the door. "Wait…," he said, clearing his throat, "you thought I would still be here so you opened the door without wearing any clothes?" Thorne made a whistling sound. "I can't say I've ever met a woman so forward, Crescent Moon. Not that I'm complaining."

"No! That's not—not what I meant!"

"No?"

"No!"

She heard him sigh, and a shiver went through her at the recollection of his breath against her skin while he'd held her. When he spoke again, his voice was soft. "I said I would stay."

"I didn't see you," she said, feeling guilty. "I assumed—"

"—that I'm like every other guy?"

She wished there weren't a door between them, so she hastily ran to the bathroom and pulled on her shorts and the shirt. She ran her fingers through her hair before opening the door a crack.

Blue eyes peered down at her. "Hi."

She bit her lip. "Hi."

They stared at each other.

"There aren't other guys," she finally admitted. "At least, not recently. I work a lot and, as you know, end up staying rather late. It's not exactly conducive to meeting anyone."

A crooked smile tugged up Thorne's face. He pushed the door open a bit more. "That's surprising."

"Imagine you're in my job. Every month you get a new project, maybe not as big as this government one we're working on, but—"

"No," he said, pushing on the door again until she could see all of him. "That's not what's surprising. I know your job is demanding. But it's like I said at the zoo, I would have thought someone as pretty and smart as you would have guys lining up around the block."

Cress tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and blushed. "Not everyone likes geeky, remember?"

His lips twitched. "Well, as someone who also works a lot and can appreciate a demanding job, I'd like to remind you that I _do_ like geeky. At least, I do when it comes to you."

"Thanks," she mumbled.

He chuckled. "And here I thought you were the only one who made the other nervous."

She thought about denying it, but _Carswell Thorne_ had just spent the night at her house and was flirting with her very openly. There was no need to hide her feelings anymore.

"I doubt there's anyone you don't make nervous," she said to her feet, unable to hide her smile.

He nudged her foot with his. She looked up to see him smiling broadly at her. "Want some breakfast?"

She nodded, then remembered her outfit and nearly cringed. "I think I need a shower first."

"And deny me the pleasure of seeing you in those adorable rocket ship PJs?"

Her cringe intensified. "Don't remind me."

"I happen to love rocket ships. Wanted to be a space pilot all my life."

"You're just trying to be nice."

"Can't one be nice and honest?" His eyes twinkled. "Besides, I'm the one still wearing yesterday's clothes."

Cress's eyes trailed over his body. He had put his dress shirt back on—as well as his belt—but he was not wearing his tie. "No, you look good. And you smell good too."

He raised his eyebrow. "I think that's the biggest compliment you've given me since I've met you."

"Really?"

He scrunched up his face like he was thinking hard. Then he shrugged. "You were kind of hard to figure out. I got the impression that you were attracted to me too, but you had this way of making me lose confidence."

"Me! You're the most intimidating person that I've ever met."

"Intimidating? Little old me? I've done nothing but practically beg you to stop by my cubicle since I started working here."

"You were always surrounded by women. And…and I didn't have anything to say. I'm a lot more introverted than you are. I freeze up when I get nervous."

Thorne reached out and stroked her cheek. She closed her eyes and felt like she would swoon. He had held her the entire night, at least as much of the night that she could remember, but that was entirely different from his touch now. They were not recovering from an adrenaline rush nor making emotional, spur of the moment decisions. And she was on her feet now, and had to remain standing with him in front of her like this.

"After last night," he said, "I hope you won't feel nervous around me anymore."

"W-wishful thinking." She opened her eyes to find he had moved closer to her. "What about you?"

"Oh," he said, tilting his head toward hers, "I think I've regained most of my confidence."

Her eyes fluttered shut. She felt his breath on her mouth.

 _I'M TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT_  
TOO SEXY FOR MY SHIRT  
SO SEXY IT HURTS

Thorne's nose bumped into hers as they both jumped at his ring tone. She coughed as he fumbled inside his pocket and hastily pulled out his phone. She expected him to turn it off but he broke out into a big grin. "Sorry, I gotta take this." He turned away from her. "Kai! My man. How the hell are you?"

Cress watched Thorne laugh into the phone at whatever this Kai was saying, his shoulders shaking up and down.

"No way. You're kidding me." Thorne turned around and covered the bottom of his phone. "Sorry," he mouthed, "it's an old friend."

Cress shook her head, trying to demonstrate that it was fine, even if she was slightly disappointed that he hadn't kissed her. She needed to take a shower and this was the perfect opportunity for that. She shut her door again and locked herself in the bathroom. The room was completely fogged up with steam because she had forgotten that the shower had been running the entire time she'd been talking to Thorne.

She squealed with delight as she got in.

Carswell Thorne was still here. And Carswell Thorne definitely liked her just as much as she liked him.

* * *

"You look amazing," said Thorne, smiling warmly as he handed her a cup of coffee.

She accepted it gratefully, though found it a little weird to be served by someone else in her own apartment. It had been such a long time since anyone had been over for breakfast—or really, over for anything. Thorne was such a gentleman.

Though she would've preferred to wear something more comfortable like she had intended that morning, she could not bring herself to look sloppy on purpose around Thorne yet. She had chosen to wear jeans for the first time in front of him, though, and had matched them with a cute red top she'd bought online and not had the chance to wear yet. She had also picked a pair of hoop earrings and worn her hair completely down. With no time to straighten it—and remembering the disaster that had ensued when she'd tried—she had instead run some gel through it to give it a wavy, wet look.

"Thanks," she said. "For the coffee and the compliment. Sorry I don't have clothes for you to borrow." It was hard not smile at the thought of Thorne borrowing her little shorts the way that she had borrowed his oversized gym shorts at his apartment.

"Indeed. I'm feeling rather sweaty," he said, a little sheepish. "San Diego isn't exactly cool this time of year."

"Do you want me to turn on the AC?"

"Nah. I'm pretty sure it's from all the running we did yesterday. And maybe some of the bed sharing." He winked. "Body heat. You know."

She blushed, but she wasn't even sure why. Probably because despite knowing that he liked her too, he still looked ridiculously handsome with his slightly mussed hair, open collar, and wrinkled slacks. No matter how much time she spent with him, she doubted she would ever get used it.

"Do you want to go home?" she asked, though she hoped he would say no. She kind of hoped he would come back over to her, hold her face again, and then kiss her before someone else could call again.

"I'm so glad you asked," he said, brightening. "In the spirit of some much needed self-care, I have no intention of going to work today. I talked to my boss in Chicago and filled Jerry in already on what happened. Kesley and I also had a chat and he informed me that a few of the men at the restaurant were apprehended."

Her knees grew weak with relief. "Thank you for telling me. That's the best news."

"Looks like it had nothing to do with me or you. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Ooh, if we can get their names from Kesley, I can double check their records anyway."

He beamed. "I was hoping you would say that. Kesley has all the details."

"I kinda like Kesley," she admitted.

"Oh? Well if Kesley is my competition, I might be in trouble. That guy is jacked."

She smacked him and a bit of her coffee spilled over the side of her mug. She laughed as he tried to jump out of the way. They were both grinning by the time she had placed her mug back on the kitchen table.

"So," he said, "one of my friends from college happens to be in San Diego this week on a business trip. He just called me and wants to meet up."

Cress nodded. "Kai?"

"Yes."

"Okay. So you're going to go home and then meet him?"

"That's the thing. I know we haven't exactly figured everything out yet"—he gestured between the two of them—"but I was wondering if you'd want to go to lunch with me and him. I hate to leave, but I have to stop at home and make myself presentable first. Can we meet up again around noon?"

"Really?" Cress was both delighted and full of nerves at the idea of meeting one of Thorne's friends. Wasn't that supposed to be a big deal?

He grinned. "Yeah."

"Are you sure that you don't want to just catch up without me?"

"I'm sure. What you say? Want to meet one of my old buddies?"


	14. Chapter 14

Though Cress had expected Thorne to come back and pick her up for some reason—maybe because he had offered to drive her at every opportunity since she had met him—Kesley drove her to the restaurant in La Jolla. He was agitated and antsy about Thorne's friend as they drove over there.

"I have not had the chance to vet him, Miss Darnell. He could be anyone."

"You worry too much, Kesley." Cress rolled down her window and let the wind blow around her hair. Since she hadn't styled it, she could enjoy the wind without worrying about her hair getting messed up. "I do appreciate that about you, though."

"I've texted Mr. Thorne to inquire about this Kai. I don't even have a last name for him to run through my system."

Cress laughed. "You do remember that I work for Satellite Technologies, right? If you ever need help running someone through your system, you just let me know. I think my system is probably a little more advanced."

Kesley grunted. "I'm sure it is. Nonetheless, without a last name I'm sure it will be challenging for you as well."

Cress wanted to reach forward and pat him on the shoulder because he sounded so worried. And it would be challenging, she thought, but Cress liked those kinds of challenges. She'd found Sybil Mira, after all, hadn't she? And that was just with a voice and a masked face. She delighted in thinking about all the things she could do with _only_ a first name. Since she knew Kesley was not one for intimate conversation, though, she imagined that he probably would not appreciate a friendly touch from her either. She let her hand drop into her lap.

"Here we are. The Beached Whale."

Cress frowned again at the name, just as she had when Thorne had sent her the message with lunch details. She loved whales and pretty much all aquatic mammals, and the thought of one hurt made her sad. But The Beached Whale restaurant was at least located on the beach and meant that she could walk there with her toes in the sand. She did not spend enough time at the beach even though she had lived in San Diego for several years. It was a shame, really, but she rarely thought about it. Only when she actually saw the beach did she remember that she wanted to be there.

"Work hard, play hard," she muttered as she got out of the car. She needed to apply Thorne's mantra more, and she was glad that he was present in her life to make her remember it.

_Thorne was present in her life._

It was hard to believe that one night could change so much. They had spent the night together, nearly kissed, and now exchanged phone numbers.

She realized that this was perhaps a backwards way of dating and that the phone numbers should have come first, but she chose to ignore that detail and dwell happily instead on the fact that she was going to be meeting one of his college friends.

Kesley hurried ahead of her. "Wait here until I check to make sure he's clear."

"You can't seriously think he has a gun on him or something, do you?" Cress called, but Kesley was already running across the path over the beach to the small gazebo restaurant.

Cress shook her head with a smile. She should probably get Kesley flowers or something after the way that he had saved them last night. He had only been her bodyguard for a few weeks and he was already defending her like bodyguards did in the movies.

She took off her shoes, rolled up her jeans, and walked off the path to go in the sand instead. The grains beneath her feet burned a little bit from the midday sun but she didn't care. The ocean smelled salty and fresh and she deserved a break from stress.

Kesley probably was the type of person who liked flowers, she concluded. Maybe she could ask Thorne what she could get him as a thank you present. He seemed like the type of guy who would give his clients thank you presents on a regular basis.

Her mind drifted to Thorne with his regular clients—the ones that he had to schmooze on a regular basis for corporate. She did not have much time to dwell on it, though, because soon Kesley, Thorne, and a handsome looking Asian guy that could only be Kai were walking out of the gazebo and onto the sand. Then Kesley was frisking Kai as if he were ready to go through the metal detector at the airport.

Cress ran towards them. "Hey! Stop that!"

Kai held up his hands, but he was probably doing that because Kesley was searching his armpits for supposed weapons. "You must be Cress! Don't worry, Thorne filled me in. This is no problem."

"He filled you in?"

Thorne nodded next to him. "I told him about your stalker. I'm sorry that Kesley thinks Kai could be your stalker, but people like him can never be too sure, huh?"

Oh, right. Of course the story that Thorne would've told him would be different.

"I hope you don't mind that I said something," said Thorne. "Kai's a good friend and he won't tell anyone."

"I'm sorry you have a stalker, Cress," Kai said, and Cress thought he sounded extremely sincere. She was a bit caught off guard by how beautiful his smile was too. "I really hope they catch him soon."

"N-not to worry," she said a little uncertainly. Was that how she would sound if she had a stalker? "As you can see, I am quite protected."

Kesley dropped his hands from Kai and nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation." He straightened and stepped to the side of the gazebo. "Enjoy your lunch."

Kai reached out his hand with a smile. "I'm Kai. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Cress smiled back as she shook his hand. "No, the pleasure's mine."

Thorne stepped between them and draped an arm around each of their shoulders. "Let's eat, shall we?" He walked them into the gazebo, not letting go of either of them. "This place is supposed to have amazing seafood."

It only took a few steps to reach their table, because the entire restaurant only had four of them. Before Thorne let the two of them go, he dropped his hand to Cress's waist and gave her a squeeze. She sat down and looked at the ocean quickly to avoid blushing in front of Kai. Inwardly, she was quite pleased that Thorne was willing to make public displays of affection in front of his friend.

Thorne took a seat next to her and Kai sat across from him. Cress looked around for the menu but found nothing.

"Welcome to The Beached Whale," said a chirpy young waiter. "My name is Alessio and I will be your server today. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Cress looked at Thorne with a smile. "I feel like I'm having déjà vu."

"That's good, I hope," he said with a wink.

"Can we get three waters and your best white wine to go with the fish please?" Kai said. The waiter nodded and left them. "They only serve one dish per day," he explained. "This is supposed to be one of the best chefs in San Diego, but apparently not well known."

"It is well known if you've read about in one of your guidebooks," said Thorne, leaning back in his chair with a smirk.

"I don't read those anymore," said Kai, rolling his eyes. He leaned forward on his elbows. "So, how long have you two been together?"

Cress felt like she was having déjà vu again, only this time she wasn't sure if they would pretend like they were only friends. In fact, she had no idea what she should say to that. Luckily, Thorne spoke up.

"Not long. Cress and I are still figuring each other out." He reached out and grabbed Cress's hand.

All she could do was smile and nod.

"Well, you watch out for this one," said Kai. "He's charming, but he's trouble."

Thorne clutched his heart, bringing Cress's hand up to his chest too. "Trouble? Me? How dare you!"

Cress giggled. "I want to hear all about how Thorne was in college."

"Oh please, no," said Thorne as the waiter brought over their waters. "Both of us have changed since then, you know that."

"You disappeared off the face of the earth, Thorne. I was really glad when I saw you were active on social media again a few years ago."

"Disappeared?" Cress asked.

"Traveled the world," he said with a shrug. "College wasn't exactly my prime. I left most of my life behind and started again."

Cress really needed to step up her social media stalking game. She had been so good, not looking him up, but on more than one occasion now she felt like she would've benefited from at least looking at his public profiles.

Kai grinned at Thorne. "College? Not your prime?" He regarded Cress. "This guy probably would have failed every single class he took had it not been for how good he was at smooth talking. I barely saw him and we were roommates. He was always out with some girl."

"Oh," said Cress. "He didn't tell me that."

"That's because I've changed," said Thorne.

"I never would've believed it," said Kai. "But here you are. Bringing a girl to lunch and everything. It's nice to see this side of you."

Cress, who was still holding Thorne's hand, said, "I imagine all that time traveling must have given you a different perspective on life."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "Sure it did. But that has nothing to do with why I'm bringing a girl to lunch."

Cress looked shyly at her water, then turned back to Thorne. "Which social media platform do you use?"

"Instagram," said Kai and Thorne simultaneously.

"He loves pictures of himself," Kai added with a wink in Cress's direction.

Oh man. Public pictures of Carswell Thorne were available this whole time? She really had missed out by being good. She was already imagining the types of pictures he posted, wondering if he went so far as to put up shirtless pictures in front of the beach...or wherever. Wherever was good.

"What's your username?" she asked.

" _Captainisking_ ," said Thorne.

"I'll add you," said Cress, pulling out her phone. "I'm _moongirlcrescent_."

"Nice," he said, then turned to Kai. "So, what brings you to San Diego?"

"Oh, how rude of me," said Kai with an apologetic look. "I haven't really properly introduced myself. Cress, I work for a multinational company that my father owns. I scout out new locations where we might open up plants and then buy property. My dad's looking at San Diego next."

"That's nice."

"Kai travels almost as much as I do," Thorne added. "He just doesn't get to stay in each location as long as me."

"How long are you staying in San Diego, Thorne?" Kai asked.

"That all depends. I'm working on a project right now and it has an undetermined ending date at this point. So I'm here until it's over. I'd say maybe two more weeks? What do you think, Cress?"

"Did you to meet at work?" asked Kai.

"Yes," said Cress. She realized that Thorne's stay in San Diego was dependent on her work on the government project. If she finished it up quickly, Thorne would leave quickly. She wondered if it was in her best interest to work slower than she normally would so that Thorne would stay longer. Then again, she didn't know what she would do if she solved the reason why the program wasn't running well and then had to sit around doing nothing.

"I think it will be at least a month," she said. That was what she had told Thorne when they had met in their initial meeting, after all. It had been three weeks already, and she'd barely gotten anything done, but that was because they kept getting attacked.

Thorne seemed to like that answer, because suddenly his foot moved ever so subtly and touched hers. She straightened and looked directly at Kai, hoping that he didn't notice.

"Yes," said Kai, taking a sip of water, "that is much longer than my usual business trips. I'll only be here through the week."

Thorne was wearing sandals, she realized, because suddenly a bare toe was caressing her ankle.

Her bare ankle.

She had forgotten to roll the bottom of her jeans back down after walking in the sand, but she was hardly thinking about that. Her imagination was already running away with her again with each small caress.

"What do you do, Cress?" said Kai.

Cress shot a look at Thorne, who sitting there all cool and collected, like he wasn't giving Cress a thousand shivers with his foot. She thought she might spill her water so she put her glass down quickly and tried to kick his foot away. "I'm a programmer," she said. She was so much more than a programmer but people who were not in the technology field never understood what she did anyway. "I also work at"—Thorne's toe returned and the sensation nearly made her gasp—"Sa-Satellite Technologies."

Thorne grinned and dropped his foot. "Cress is a genius, Kai. Your dad should hire her because she's better than any of the programmers you have, I'm sure of it. And I bet he would pay more than Cress's boss."

"You don't even know what I make!" Cress said indignantly.

"Still. I'd bet your salary that Kai's dad would pay more. He's like, a billionaire."

"Let's not talk about money, Thorne," said Kai.

The waiter arrived and brought out their food, which had a foreign name that Cress could not understand, but looked like a fancy, breaded fish baked over a bed of different vegetables. "With a white wine tomato basil sauce," the waiter finished as Cress examined her plate.

"It looks pretty," she said, trying to be polite. Fish was not her favorite food, and she was sort of hoping for a carb to fill her empty stomach. She had barely gotten a chance to eat last night, and then she had forgone eating a big breakfast to save space for the big lunch she assumed they would have now.

" _You_ look pretty," Thorne whispered, then placed a kiss on her cheek.

They tucked into their food, though, and Cress decided that she liked Kai. He was kind and sweet and funny, much like Thorne, but in a more reserved way. He asked her questions about herself, which made her nervous about being on the spot, but made her feel like Kai was genuinely interested in getting to know her.

About halfway through their meal, Thorne started playing with her ankle again. She decided that she had had enough of being nervous and decided to give him a dose of his own medicine.

"So I'm sitting there talking to him," Thorne was saying, "and out of nowhere he—" Thorne sucked in a sharp breath.

"He what?" Cress asked sweetly. She had brushed her fingertips against his knee right as he was really getting into his story. She was delighted to find that he was not any more immune to her touches than she was to his. She ran a teasing finger up part of his thigh.

Thorne looked like he might choke. "He— _ah_ …," he spluttered, clearly trying to focus on his story. Cress ran her finger back down to his knee. Thorne's hand landed on top of hers and kept it still. "Sorry. I totally forgot what I was saying."

"That's okay," said Kai. "I've been meaning to ask you…have you seen Cinder lately?"

Cress had been staring intently at Kai on purpose, so as not to give away what she was doing or not doing with her hand under the table, and noticed that his eyes changed when he mentioned Thorne's best friend. She straightened and relaxed her hand, suddenly very curious.

Thorne did not let go of Cress's hand as he spoke, keeping her from moving her fingers. "Oh yeah, I see her a lot. She still lives in Chicago."

"How is she?"

"Same old Cinder."

Kai nodded. "Excuse me," he added, putting his napkin down on the table and standing up. "I need a breath of fresh air."

It was an odd thing to say, considering that they were sitting outside, but neither Thorne nor Cress said anything.

"What was that about?" she said.

Thorne grabbed her hand from under the table and pulled it out like she was holding a weapon. "You can't go giving me heart attacks like that, woman!"

Cress squirmed her legs away from his foot. "Don't start what you can't finish."

He looked like he was examining her in a new light which give her great satisfaction.

"So? Kai and Cinder?"

Thorne glanced over his shoulder. "They dated in college. Inseparable, the two of them. It was one of the reasons I stayed away from our room a lot, honestly. They were cute but… _too cute_ , if you get my drift."

She nodded.

"Kai dumped her at graduation, though. Said that he was too young to get married or something. I knew he was moving to New York to work for his dad, but I didn't understand why that plan couldn't include Cinder. I figured he'd met someone else."

"He seems like he still loves her."

"He asks me about her every time we get together in a random city in the States. Which isn't much, frankly, but enough that I can agree with that assumption. I think he's full of regret."

"Poor guy. He seems so sweet."

"Oh, he is. The best of the best."

Cress hesitated, biting her lip and looking down. Thorne noticed because he brushed some hair away from her face. "What?"

"It's none of my business, really."

"Tell me."

Cress looked him straight on. "Did you really do that bad in college?"

Thorne chuckled, a deep rumble in his throat that warmed her heart. His face turned sheepish. "It wasn't that I didn't know the material. I didn't feel like doing the work."

"But you work hard now…at least it seems like you do."

"Because I actually care about what I'm doing now. Something about traveling changed me. I figured out what I wanted to do and, admittedly, needed money to keep doing it. Now I have a job where I can get money _and_ enjoy my life."

"But how did you get this job, then? Did you have straight A's?"

He laughed. "Straight A's, me? Not in college. No way." He reached for her hand again. She took it happily. "After being abroad for a year, I applied to graduate school. Got my MBA at Northwestern while working. I hated the actual classes but I knew what I was working toward. I've never had any problems intellectually—though I'm definitely not as smart as you—but I didn't apply myself. When I apply myself, I get things done." He looked up at the ceiling of the gazebo and groaned. "I feel like I'm giving an interview."

"Sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I'm just interested."

He shot her a sly look. "I know. I'm glad you are."

"Okay," said Kai, joining them. "Sorry about that."

Thorne sat up in his chair, not letting go of Cress's hand. "No problem. Cinder makes us all a little crazy."

Kai shot Thorne an annoyed look. "Speaking of, I'd love to pick your brain sometime about her." He glanced at Cress. "Privately, if that's okay with the two of you."

"No problem," said Cress.

"Boo," said Thorne. "If you don't have a problem with it then I can't have a problem with it either. I guess I'll have to slot my romantic walk on the beach with Kai instead."

Cress giggled. She liked the idea of taking a romantic walk on the beach with Thorne too, but not when there was a third person involved. She was glad to have met one of Thorne's friends and learned more about his past. It was a big step for them, it seemed, and in the direction that she wanted to go. She knew she would have to open up more about her past too, if things got more serious, and she suspected they would.

"That's a good idea," she said encouragingly. "I'm full anyway and should head back to the office."

"Now?" said Thorne. "We haven't even had dessert."

"I do have work to get done, even if I'm still a little shaken from yesterday. And you two should talk… _really_ talk." She wanted to add that they should talk about Cinder, but she gave Thorne a pointed look instead. He was a romantic at heart, she could tell, and maybe he would figure out how to mend the relationship between Cinder and Kai if it was meant to be.

A part of her hoped that if Cinder and Kai could make it, there was some hope for long distance relationships. After all, once she finished this project, she and Thorne could end up in one eventually. It was a little too much to think about at the moment, but her fantasies had started extending beyond the immediate future. The thought made her feel warm.

She gave both of the guys a kiss on the cheek as she left, taking care to linger on Thorne's cheek a little longer. His fingertips grazed her waist as she did. "I'll call you later," he said into her ear.

As soon as she had reached a safe distance away where no one but Kesley could see her, she took off her shoes again and ran into the sand toward the ocean, arms open.

She didn't have to go back to the office _immediately_ , after all. There was time for some long-overdue wading in the water and a few heart shapes carved into the wet sand. She was pretty sure the initials _C_ and _T_ would find their way into her art as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why I've never had Cress and Thorne play footsie before is beyond me. Them "dating" lights up my life. And they're gonna kiss very soon, let me tell you, and I have the most wonderful plans for that chapter. :)


	15. Chapter 15

The rest of the week raced by. With the news of the arrest of the men who had tried to rob the restaurant, life went back to normal. Cress was able to move back into her former office after three days, leaving the closet behind hopefully for good.

Jerry had purchased brand-new furniture and expedited cleaning and window repair. Cress, with Julian's help, set up her own hardware and moved all the data she had saved on the company cloud onto her new computers.

In reality, Julian was only there because Cress needed to give him an update on Thorne. He had been out sick for a few days and she had sort of forgotten about him.

"First of all," said Julian from her couch, "I'm mad at you because you didn't tell me sooner. And second of all, I'm extremely jealous. He's so hot."

Cress crawled out from under the desk on her hands and knees, holding a discarded piece of wire in her mouth. She got up and spit out the wire into her wastebasket.

"Ew," said Julian.

"There's no reason to be jealous. Josh is really cute too."

Julian smiled dreamily. "He is, isn't he? But it's not a forbidden office romance. That takes the sexiness up a level in my book."

Cress took a seat in her chair. "But is it _really_ forbidden? I mean, what can Jerry do? He's not going to fire us because we fell in love."

"In love?" Julian let out a sound that was akin to a squeal.

"Okay, we haven't fallen in love yet. But we _could._ Would Jerry get in the way of fate? Nobody even knows we like each other. I can't imagine Jerry ever figuring something like that out."

Even as she said it, she felt extremely dramatic. She had thought these things for a few days now, but saying them out loud was a different story. At least Julian wouldn't think she was stupid for feeling this way because he was practically in love with Thorne too. Still, as always, she couldn't stop her blush.

"Okay," said Julian, holding up his hands. "Fate? That's a big deal, Cress. Are you sure nothing more happened between you and him when he spent the night?"

Cress shook her head again. It had taken several minutes of arguing back and forth for Cress to convince Julian that neither she or Thorne had made a move on the other while in bed together. She tried to tell him that cuddling was enough of a move for her, especially when they hadn't even admitted anything about their feelings at that point. Julian couldn't seem to grasp that two people could sleep together without _sleeping together._

This, in fact, was one of the things that convinced her that Thorne could be the right person for her. It wasn't that she never wanted to take the relationship — if it developed to that — to the next level, but she was glad that Thorne hadn't just tried to hook up with her. It felt like they'd actually had a few dates now, even if they'd really only had one.

Thorne had texted her in the evening, after he had finished hanging out with Kai, and admitted that the night at Fiametta's Italian Bistro had been his attempt to ask her out. He had apologized if his intentions had been confusing, but he had been afraid to officially ask her out in case she didn't really like him.

 _Dating someone who works with you can be tricky_ , he'd said. _I didn't want to make you uncomfortable._

They'd spent the rest of the night texting back and forth until a little past midnight. Cress finally felt in her element that night. She was great with words when she was behind a screen. Her nerves were not projected in the same way that they were when Thorne was standing right in front of her. She had even sent him a few selfies.

Both of them had liked a lot of pictures on each other's Instagram accounts.

"Yes, I'm sure nothing happened besides that I spent a night in his arms." She smiled proudly and, just for fun, stuck her tongue out at him. "With my clothes _on_."

"And now all you can think about is getting his clothes off," said Julian with a smirk.

"And you are still in here because…?"

He huffed and got out of the couch. "We should double. What do you think?"

"Isn't it too early? I mean, Thorne and I aren't even officially in a relationship."

"Didn't you meet his childhood friend?"

"College roommate."

"Yes, Cress. His college roommate. A guy who, according to you, he hasn't seen in a long time. And what does Thorne do the second his buddy calls him?" He gave Cress a pointed look. "He invites you to dine with them. At a fancy schmancy restaurant on the beach. Oh, what's that? This was after _he held you in his arms with his clothes on all night_?" Cress blushed again as Julian rolled his eyes. "Honey, you're in a relationship. No guy does that unless he really likes you." His face suddenly lit up with excitement. "Or he likes men and he's in love with me. Carswell Thorne would be the only man I'd leave Josh for at this point."

Cress considered this for a minute. "The sleeping over _was_ completely due to the circumstances that preceded ending up at my apartment. But he did say he liked me..."

She began to wonder if she needed to re-analyze everything Thorne had ever said or done as Julian laughed. "Cress, I'm kidding. It's obvious he likes you. The circumstances that led to the sleeping over included a ton of sexual tension. It's time, honey. You can't have a _third_ sleepover and not—"

"Julian!" She glanced out at her new bulletproof glass door and the hallway behind it. No one was there, but she lowered her voice anyway. "Okay, okay, I get your point."

"So, go on a double date with me and Josh."

"I'll ask him."

"Where is he, anyway? He hasn't stopped by to say hello yet."

"How do you know he does that?"

Julian began to strut to the door. "Honey, it's really hard to get him away from your office. Every time I walked by his cubicle this week, he wasn't there. Or is he not going to visit anymore now that you two don't have any privacy without your closet office?"

Cress pressed her lips together. She knew Julian was joking because he knew that they hadn't kissed yet. This small but very important detail was driving her crazy whenever she thought of whatever was happening with Thorne. He had slept next to her, played footsie with her, and gotten very close to kissing her the morning after staying at her apartment. And there had been a few times this week, during their work meetings, when she had imagined that he would kiss her. But Thorne was always professional, despite being flirty, whenever they were at work.

He had not asked her to hang out anymore, though he had continued texting her throughout the week. And yesterday he had asked her if she had any plans for the weekend. She had actually told him that she was hoping she might have plans with him. He had just dragged his thumb across his lip and smiled like he had a secret.

It was little things like that about him that made her want to jump him.

"Well, speak of the devil," said Julian.

Thorne was strolling up the hallway. Julian shot a look at Cress over his shoulder as if to say _see_? Cress ignored him and pushed in the codes from her desk to open her new door for Thorne.

Julian blocked the entrance. "Hey there, Thorne. Got any plans for the weekend? I could use another night at the Electric Mirage."

Thorne met Cress's eyes over Julian's shoulder and smiled at her before turning his smile to Julian. Cress envied him for how laid-back he could be when he was put on the spot. "Those tickets were a one time thing, sorry."

"I thought you knew the owner."

Thorne laughed. "I wish. Those tickets were present to me from Corporate." His face turned sheepish as he ran a hand through his hair. "This wasn't supposed to be my project. I had another one I was going for in Paris. When they assigned me to this one, I was a little ticked off. They gave me those tickets to shut me up."

"Paris?" Julian said. "Tickets to the Electric Mirage doesn't exactly sound like a consolation."

"No, it doesn't. It was just a perk." His eyes shifted to Cress again. "It wasn't so bad in the end, coming here. I'll get my chance to go back to Paris some other time."

 _Wow_ , Paris. Cress had always wanted to go there. She didn't really know why she hadn't. It wasn't like she didn't make enough money to afford a plane ticket or a few nights in a hotel. But Paris had always seemed like a place for lovers.

She felt stupid thinking that now that she knew Thorne had traveled the world on his own. She had imagined him several times standing in front of the Eiffel Tower with a backpack and his easy grin. He had probably broken a lot of hearts during his travels.

She wished she could have the courage to travel on her own and not feel lonely about it.

"If you don't have any plans this weekend, would you like to go out with me and Cress tomorrow night?" Cress snapped to attention at Julian's words. "I'm bringing a friend," he added.

Thorne's eyes stayed fixed on Cress. "Where are you going?"

"We haven't decided yet. Maybe a bar. It won't be as cool as the Electric Mirage, of course, but we could just get some drinks, hang out. What do you say?"

Thorne nodded. "Let me know a time and place and I'll see if I can be there."

"Great! I'll text you. Or Cress can text you." His voice dropped suggestively. "Maybe the two of you can _drive_ together."

"Thank you, Julian," said Cress firmly.

He just laughed and patted Thorne on the shoulder as he left her office.

Thorne closed the door behind him. "Hope I wasn't interrupting something."

She waved her hand as he approached her desk. "Oh no, I was just getting set up and he was helping me."

"I'm glad you're able to move back into your office again. How does it feel?"

"I'm a little relieved to be back in here. It was kind of cramped in the closet. I keep remembering Sybil Mira coming in here and us hiding under the desk."

He took a seat in front of her desk and crossed one leg over the other, hands in his pockets. He looked amazing, as usual. He was wearing a light blue shirt with a black tie today. She liked the color combination.

"Well, hopefully when you crack this program, we'll figure out whatever she was up to."

"Speaking of," she said, turning on her computer, "there's something I wanted to ask you about."

"Work-related?"

"Yes."

He held up his hand. "Wait. Before we get to the project, there's something that I wanted to ask you."

She stopped typing. "What?"

"Do you want me to come to your evening out with Julian and his friend?"

Cress blushed. "Julian wants us to go on a double date with him and his boyfriend. I might've told him about my…"

"Your…?"

"My feelings for you," she mumbled.

Thorne smirked. "Go on."

"I didn't know if you would be comfortable hanging out with me in public."

"In public?"

Her blush deepened. "I mean, you know, letting other people know that you also…I mean…"

Thorne grinned like she was enjoying her stuttering a little too much. "I don't think we should necessarily announce it to Jerry. But if you're trying to ask me whether I would like to...you know..."

She raised an eyebrow as he faltered for a moment, happy that he, for once, was not so confident.

He cleared his throat. "If you're trying to ask me if I want to date you exclusively, then I think I would tell you that I already feel like I am. I'm not staying up all night texting any other girl, I can tell you that." He pulled on the skin under his eye, suddenly all confidence again. "And I certainly don't get bags for nothing."

Cress stifled her giggle. The idea of him having bags was ridiculous. Her heart was racing in the best possible way. She wanted to throw herself in his arms and tell him that she had, of course, imagined that to be true. Instead, she just grinned back. "I didn't want to assume."

"It feels like we've been doing everything backward, don't you think? We haven't even…" He shook his head and trailed off, muttering something that Cress didn't catch. "Anyway," he continued, "in my mind, we're already dating. I wouldn't have introduced you to Kai otherwise. I just wanted to check if you were comfortable with us revealing that to Julian."

"I already did," she admitted with a cringe. "Sorry I didn't ask you. Sometimes I just need someone to talk to about these things, you know?"

"You can talk to me."

She smiled at him. "I will."

"Do you want to go on this double date with them, then?" He made air quotes. " _Drive together_ , as Julian said?"

"Definitely."

Thorne looked relieved. "Me too. Why don't we ask Julian to keep this quiet, though? I don't want to get in trouble around here with anyone."

"Of course. Julian knows not to say anything to anyone."

"Then it's settled. Now, what did you want to tell me before, about work? I can't stay too long because I have a demanding client in Arizona who unfortunately needs my full attention. I already spent two hours on the phone with him. He doesn't think the job we did was 'to satisfaction.' So I have to call my boss and think about maybe sending someone else down there since I'm stuck here." He relaxed his features. "Not that I'm _stuck_. I like being with you." He winked. "Anyway, what's up?"

Cress blinked, trying to recall her train of thought. It was too easy to get distracted by Thorne's beautiful eyes and smile and the idea of the two of them together. Thorne thought they were dating just like she thought they were dating. They were on the same page. And Thorne was _calm and happy_ about it. She had to stop doubting herself. Thorne liked her just as much as she liked him and he had just explicitly told her once again.

"Right. Kind of hard to focus on anything else at the moment when all I can seem to do is...think about you." She sucked in a nervous breath as she said it, trying to get used to the idea of talking to him about him. She worried he might laugh but was relieved to see him nodding seriously.

"I'm pretty sure that's why we're not supposed to date our co-workers," he said. "Let's prove them wrong."

"Work hard, play hard," she said with a smile. "Maybe we can do both together."

"I like the way you think." He winked again. "But you already knew that. Now, what's going on with this project?"

Channeling her energy back into what she did best, Cress pulled up a few different boxes on her screen and opened the program alongside it. She found what she was looking for—what she had found this morning—and asked Thorne to come around to take a look. She didn't actually believe that he would really see what she was seeing, but it made her feel like it could somehow be explained more easily if he at least had a visual.

"Do you see these patterns?"

Thorne bent down and squinted at one of her three monitors. She pointed at what she was referring to but Thorne frowned. "It's all Greek to me."

She snapped her fingers and looked over at him. "Okay, good analogy even if you don't understand what's happening on the screen. I'm getting the feeling that this program was not originally created by the US government. Did they ever specifically tell you that it was?"

Thorne scrunched up his face and thought. It took him a moment to answer. "I believe so. They told me that the government had worked on it for years. It's supposed to help with terrorists by changing the way that they locate them. Surveillance software. Isn't that what they told you?"

"Yes. That's what Jerry told me and that's what the portfolio said that Sybil Mira stole. But the more that I play around with it, the more I'm thinking that the government didn't develop this. The way this is being coded isn't anything like what the US government is doing."

Rather than trying to look at her screen any longer, Thorne took a seat on top of her desk, facing her. His legs dangled down and Cress suddenly felt flushed. If she moved just one inch, she could touch his leg with her elbow. She remembered playing footsie with him under the table only a few days ago, the way his legs felt pressed against hers in bed.

She wondered if Thorne had the same memory because his eyes locked with hers for a long, heated moment before he spoke again. "Okay. So a different government developed it. Maybe that's why they can't get it to work. Maybe they stole it from a different government trying to figure out how to use it to their advantage? I would guess a lot of governments do that sort of thing. Spies and the like."

Cress thought back to their conversation in the zoo about spies. "Did Corporate ever get back to you about the spy?"

Thorne's eyes twinkled. "No. Sorry."

"If this came from a different government, it's really important that I know. They don't have to tell me all of their secrets but I've been basing my strategy on what I know of US-centric coding."

"Why does it even matter? I thought computers were universal language."

She rolled her eyes, then felt bad. "There are definitely non-English based programming languages that don't use keywords taken from the English vocabulary. That's not exactly what I mean. Each country does things differently based on their intelligence system. If this is meant for counterterrorism then they're going to have top people working on it within their intelligence system, aren't they?"

Thorne shrugged. "That kind of information is above my pay grade, I think. But I guess it's good that you know now. Can it help you move forward?"

"I think it can. Like I told you the first time we had a meeting, it helps me if I understand the"—she changed her mind about using the technical words—" _personality_ of the program, so to speak, right? Every little bit helps. There's something else though. Something I'm not sure we're supposed to know."

"What?"

"I don't think this is surveillance technology at all."

"No?"

"No. It's way too advanced. Too complex. And there seems to be this interactive part of it that I can't figure out. I think once I figure that part out, I'll figure out how to make the program run. It keeps breaking up at the specific point."

Thorne beamed and jumped off the desk. "That's really great news. Maybe not about the surveillance technology part, but that you figured out why it's not working. I'll schedule more time with my boss to see if there's anything more he knows. Is there anything else can I do to help?"

"I don't want to be rude, but could you leave me alone for the rest of the day? I think I'm on to something and now that I have all my monitors back and my own office it gives me time to work on it without interruption."

"Oh, sure." He ran a hand through his hair. "Anything you need."

She thought for a moment. "In that case, I'd love some chocolate too. It's about time we put your client-pleasing skills to use. I want a ton of chocolate to get me through the rest of the day. And also"—she yanked a sticky-note off a stack on her desk and scribbled furiously—"this device. It'll help me." She passed it to him, their hands brushing against each other. "I give you permission to interrupt me if you can get me this and the chocolate."

Thorne stared at the paper. "The chocolate is not a problem. But where would I get this?"

She grinned. "You work for Satellite Technologies, don't you? We should have one in our overflow warehouse."

"I didn't know we had one of those."

"Now you do. Maybe Kesley can take you if you need to go."

"No way. Kesley stays with you at all times."

"Fair enough. Take Julian then. He's dying for an adventure."

He grabbed the sticky note from her and stuck it in his breast pocket. "Is this really something we would call an adventure?"

Cress patted his knee. "It will be once he discovers what device you want. It's not something we get to use on a daily basis."

"What does it do?"

"Let's just say…it unscrambles things."

His hand landed on hers before she could pull it away from his knee. A tingle shot through her at his touch. "Sounds useful. You're scrambling my brain, you know." He squeezed her hand. "In more ways than one."

"You better get that device then," she said, trying to make a joke.

He didn't laugh. Rather, he bent down and kissed her.

No sooner than his lips touched hers, they were gone again.

"Sorry," he said, looking shocked for once. "I shouldn't have—we're at work— _shit_ —I couldn't help myself. You're way too cute when you talk about stuff I don't understand."

Cress stared up at him, almost needing to touch her fingers to her lips to see if it had really happened. She hadn't even had the chance to taste him. Without any preparation for the kiss, it had passed in the literal blink of an eye. "No, it's—it's more than fine. Can you…do that again?"

He considered her, seeming thoroughly tempted by the offer. Finally, he tucked a piece of hair behind ear and sighed. "Definitely. Just not now. The next time I kiss you, I want to be able to take my time."

"H-how much time do you need?" she said, letting out an excited breath.

Thorne just smirked. "More time than you have right now."


	16. Chapter 16

On Friday, Cress did two things she probably shouldn't have done. It did take her about twenty-seven minutes to make the decision to do them, though, so there was that.

Twenty-seven minutes was a lot of time for her when she was supposed to be working. Cress could take down a firewall in about three minutes, if it was a basic one, and four to six minutes if it was a more complex one. She could give someone a virus in under two minutes, unless they were giving her a virus to start out with and she had to combat back, in which case it took her about ten minutes. And, she had learned, it had taken Thorne only two seconds to kiss her yesterday.

Twenty-seven minutes seemed like a lifetime compared to two seconds.

She had paced around during that time, careful to watch the hallway to see who was walking by and noticing that she was pacing, but there wasn't much of an audience. The employees at Satellite Technologies tended to work extra hard on Friday afternoon so they could leave on time.

It had not been an easy decision, but after playing around with the program and the device that Thorne had brought her, Cress had a continued feeling of unease the more she worked on it. The more she played around with it, the more it was absolutely certain that this was no surveillance technology. The interactive part of it was still blowing her mind, and not many things when it came to coding blew her mind. She was usually the one blowing the minds of others.

At least, she thought grimly, when it came to her computer work.

It also appeared like the program needed some sort of password. She had tried so many different combinations, using the usual unscrambling technology at her disposal to get to the bottom of it. The more she worked on that part, the more she was convinced that this was why the program wasn't working. Someone, somewhere, needed to authorize the use of it.

And then there was the webcam, which kept popping on so much that she started feeling like she was being watched. She knew she wasn't; she had spent fourteen minutes this morning tracing the signal back to the program itself and was well aware that the program wasn't emitting any kinds of signals to anyone but her. But whenever it turned on, she imagined that the program wanted to see her and wanted her to do something.

It didn't make any sense.

She wondered, too, if this feature of the program was the reason why people were convinced it was surveillance technology. Or, perhaps, the reason the government had been able to pass it off as surveillance technology. Maybe the webcam on her computer would be some sort of camera device in the future if the program started working properly. But it always crashed at the part where it needed some sort of input from her. It was developed, almost like it had a mind of its own.

She had considered A.I. technology for a minute, then took a break to do three minutes of quick yoga stretches. She was overthinking this and she knew it.

So, without any other options, Cress decided to do two things.

First, Cress sent out a signal into the interwebs with her signature attached to it—her online code name, as she had explained to Thorne when he had asked her a few weeks ago. She didn't say anything specific about what she wanted, just that she was looking for some information about new government programming. If someone out there had any idea, they could ping her back with their own untraceable signature and she would know how to contact them.

This sort of thing could take days, so Cress got out of the secure portal she had created and decided to check it later. She would have to be careful about how often she logged in to check, because most people at Satellite Technologies could recognize that sort of thing, though she had never told any of them what her signature was.

The second thing she did was hack into the government itself which, admittedly, was not the smartest thing to do but not the first time she had done it. And she had good reason for it. She needed to find out more information about this project and why the whole thing was making her feel uneasy. Cress didn't like being lied to, especially when it came to top secret projects.

She didn't find anything.

There was not a whisper of this project anywhere that she could look—granted, she was limited with where she could look before someone would figure out that she had hacked in.

The more she tried to find something, the more frustrated she grew. She was Cress Darnel! She was supposed to have answers, not more questions. If this project was buried so deep that even she couldn't find it, then there was definitely something fishy about it.

After a while, she gave up and went back to the project, nearly wanting to cuss it out.

When she checked her secure portal again, she found that someone had answered, at least. They were busy doing some Con this weekend, though, so would she want to talk on Monday? And did she want to send her picture?

Cress rolled her eyes and then wrote back that she was only looking for information about something specific, and if he pressured her for any of her details then she would figure out his identity and ruin him.

 _Haha_ , he wrote (Cress assumed it was a guy since he had asked for her picture). _I was just kidding_. _And good luck trying to figure out my identity if I'm sharing government secrets._

 _You live for these secrets or you wouldn't be responding,_ she wrote back, making the encryption extra hard for him.

He got it anyway, though, and Cress was impressed enough to arrange for a virtual meeting on Monday. She would have to do it at home, even though her home computer was less secure than the one at work. If anyone found out what she was doing, she would probably be fired. Satellite Technologies could get into a lot of trouble too, and it wasn't Jerry's fault that she thought the program was shady.

Until then, though, she had a different date to get ready for.

* * *

"Kesley, can you come in here for a second?"

Kesley peered over her shoulder into her living room. "Everything okay, Miss Darnel?"

"Yes, yes, please, come in." She waved him in and he somewhat reluctantly took a step inside of her apartment. He only came in each time they came back to her apartment to check it for what he called 'suspicious activity.'

There never was any, but Cress was glad that he did it, even though she could barely remember a time anymore that she was ever truly alone. As an introvert, it tired her out, but at least she had space in her apartment to be by herself and plenty of assurance that nobody was trying to attack her.

Tonight she was extremely thankful for his presence, as she had been trying to figure out what to wear for the last hour. She shut the door behind Kesley, who stood up a little straighter, seeming to be on high alert.

"Okay," she said, "you're a guy."

The only acknowledgment she got was the slight raise of his eyebrow.

"What I mean is, you can't be that much older than me, right? Are you thirty? Ish?"

The truth was she had already looked him up and memorized most demographic information about him. But that sometimes made people uneasy, so she tried to be casual about it. Kesley shouldn't mind, anyway, as his job was looking people up and making sure they didn't do bad things. So what if she knew the same amount of information about him as he knew about her?

Kesley cleared his throat. "Thirty-one."

"Excellent. So you are young and thriving just like me. And you're a guy—which I said already." She clasped her hands together in a prayer position. "I really need your help figuring out what I should wear tonight."

"Miss Darnel—"

"Just Cress, please. But I'll let you call me Miss Darnel if you help me pick out my outfit. And really," she rushed on, "all I need is for you to stand there and say yay or nay. I've narrowed it down to four outfits."

"Miss Darnel, Mr. Thorne will be here in approximately seven minutes."

She waved her hand. "What's a date if a guy doesn't have to wait, right?" She reconsidered as she ran back into her bedroom. "Maybe I've narrowed it down to two outfits," she said as she returned with both of them in her hand. "The main question is, should I wear a dress or not? We're going to a dive bar apparently, but even though I researched it I'm not really sure what it is."

"While a dive bar is an informal way of saying that the bar is disreputable," Kesley said slowly, "I've checked this one out and there won't be anything disreputable about it. But you shouldn't wear a dress," he added.

"Really?"

"If you would like to, then you should."

"But you just said I shouldn't."

"If it were me, I wouldn't. Though I have noticed that Mr. Thorne tends to dress up compared to his…colleagues."

Cress blushed. She knew Kesley was hyper-observant and it shouldn't have surprised her that he hesitated around the word _colleagues_. "We're not going out as colleagues," she stammered. "It's a date."

Kesley harrumphed.

"A double date. But I think you knew that."

He didn't say anything except, "I wouldn't wear the dress for tonight. Too fancy."

"That's all I needed to know. Thank you."

Cress darted into her room and discarded both outfits. She picked the one she had originally chosen as third, which was a soft blue T-shirt dress with leggings and a pair of wide ankle boots. She threw on a long, silver necklace and decided on stud earrings tonight. Her hair was down again, for that had taken the most work, and she was just putting on a final coat of lipstick when Thorne knocked on the door.

"I'm ready!" she called, smacking her lips together and running into the living room with a hidden squeal.

Luckily, both Cress and Kesley had been wrong. Thorne was still dressed up, compared to the people she worked with, but he had lost the tie and was wearing tight, faded blue jeans with a black button up shirt.

He grinned when he saw her. "Hey, Cress."

"Hey, yourself," she said shyly.

"I hope it doesn't get old if I tell you how amazing you look every time I see you."

She did a little twirl, hardly ever feeling as confident as she did in this moment. She was going on an official date with Carswell Thorne. He liked her, she liked him, and he had promised her more kisses.

"I don't think it'll ever get old," she admitted.

"You look so different, too, than you do at work. Not that that's a bad thing, of course. It's refreshing to see both sides of you."

"Both are me," she said with a shrug.

"Good. I'll take both, please."

Behind him, Kesley cleared his throat. Cress jumped, having forgotten he was there.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, Miss Darnel, but it's nearly seven and I am ending my shift. Strom is here to escort you to your dinner."

"You're leaving early tonight," she said. "I'm glad."

Kesley raised his eyebrow, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.

"Oh, I don't mean because I want you to leave. I'm just glad that you're able to have some time to yourself because I feel like all you get to do is watch me."

"We get time off in between clients," he said, then nodded his head in farewell. In a flash, Strom was there, who wasn't quite as handsome or muscular as Kesley, but still just as intimidating.

"Hello, Strom," she said politely. The two of them had not yet built up much of a rapport as Cress tended to see Strom only if she left her apartment at night. He nodded at the two of them.

"Shall we?" Thorne said, holding out his elbow to her.

Cress drew in an excited breath and linked arms with him, which wasn't as comfortable as she had imagined due to their height difference, but worked nonetheless in its own way. She was so ecstatic to be walking with him, no more hidden attractions between them. As they got in the elevator, it was really only the presence of her bodyguard that kept her from pushing to her toes to kiss him.

From the way he was looking at her, leaning all casual against the handlebar with the hint of a smirk on his lips, she got the feeling he felt the same.

A thrill went through her at the thought.

* * *

"So there they are, trying to steal her phone—which back then, you know, didn't even have Internet, right?" Still holding his beer bottle, Thorne spread two of his fingers about two inches apart. "This small, remember, with the flip top."

Julian shook his head. "I never had one of those."

"Me neither," said Cress, "I think I got a smart phone for the first time in college."

Thorne gaped at her even as his hand gave her thigh a squeeze under the table. "Seriously? I thought you were good at technology from birth."

"Cress had a really sheltered upbringing," said Julian with a sly grin. "It's a surprise she got into this field at all."

Josh, who had been listening intently to Thorne, playfully swatted Julian. "Stop talking, I'm trying to hear the end of this story. So they stole her phone and…?"

"And I was trying to figure out right before that whether I had a crush on this girl, you see. I originally approached her because I wanted help with math homework, but then I thought she was cute and maybe liked me. But then I saw these guys stealing her phone and I thought, I have to help her.

"I go up to them and snatch the phone out of the tallest guy's hand"—he let go of Cress's leg and reached up in the air like he was dunking a basketball—"but then they clobbered me against the lockers. I think I broke a rib. But I did get in a good punch and that was when I decided I learned some martial arts."

His hand returned to Cress's thigh, where it had been most of the night. Despite that, every time his hand moved even just slightly, Cress felt a rush of nerves and excitement that she could only qualify as unbridled joy.

She turned to Thorne, unable to hide her smile. "I still can't picture you doing martial arts."

"But this isn't about martial arts, Cress," he said with a devilish smile. "It's about how I learned to throw a punch. And I'm happy to say, ever since that experience and the one martial arts class I took, I've only been beaten up one more time since then."

"When?" said Josh.

Thorne took a long swig of his beer and shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"What happened to the girl, though?" Cress asked. "Did you end up dating her?"

"Nah. I was only thirteen then, so I didn't really date anyone. But she did help me with my math homework until I got my grades up."

Now Cress swatted Thorne, making him jump back with a laugh. "That's terrible. She probably thought you were so heroic for helping her with those guys."

" _Thought_ is the key word," said Thorne slyly.

"No, it was kind of heroic. At least for her."

Julian beamed at the two of them. "I'm so happy you to finally decided to get your shit together. I've been telling Josh all about the two of you since he and I started hanging out."

"It's true," said Josh. "And Julian wasn't wrong. You two are really cute together."

"Thanks," said Cress, a blush spreading to her cheeks.

Thorne's finger drew a circle on her thigh. "I'll toast to that!"

He raised his beer and Cress reached for her Tequila Sunrise. The four of them toasted and drank as the music from the band changed. They had been playing a sort of mellow grunge music that Cress hadn't been able to place, but this one was a remake of a song from the early 2000's. It was still in their depressing style, but at least it was something she could hum to.

"We should dance," Julian said, taking Josh's hand.

"Dance?" Thorne said. "I don't know. This isn't really the type of bar where one dances."

"Wasn't asking _you_ ," said Julian slyly. "And there always has to be someone to start it."

The two of them got up and made their way over to the band, Julian practically dragging Josh. Since the bar was small, they were not more than ten feet away from them, but it was clear they were soon caught up in their own world. As Cress considered joining them, Thorne's hand left her thigh and snaked around her waist, drawing her to him with a squeeze of her hip.

"Is it okay if we don't dance?" Thorne said.

"Julian said that you're pretty good at dancing."

"Did he now?"

"At the Electric Mirage."

A thumb caressed her hip. "He told you about me then?"

She gulped. "Sort of. I didn't ask him. He wanted us together from the start."

Before she could even register that it was happening, Thorne was nuzzling his face against her neck. "Me too," he said, running the tip of his nose against her skin.

Cress drew in a sharp breath.

He held tightly onto her hip, making sure she couldn't squirm away as he began to follow the same path with his lips. Light, feathery kisses went up her neck, then down again.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked, drawing away from her neck for only an instant.

Having a good time was the understatement of the world. Cress felt so good she was having trouble remembering her own name. All she could do was nod fervently and lean more into Thorne's side to give him better access. He chuckled and moved up her neck again.

It was hard not to gasp. Shivers ricocheted down her skin and she hoped that her long hair made it look like he was just telling her a secret. But really, it was like he was drawing the breath right out of her.

"Want to go back to my place?" he whispered, pressing his lips to the sensitive skin underneath her earlobe.

Even as she found herself nodding, she said, "What about Julian and Josh?"

Thorne finally sat up straight and winked. "They'll understand."

Cress watched her friend and his boyfriend dance together, caught up in themselves the way that perhaps she and Thorne were caught up in each other. She knew they would understand too—Julian more than anyone. And this, if she were honest with herself, was something she had been hoping would happen.

"Okay," she said. "But first, there's something I have to do."

"Do tell."

Plucking up her courage, Cress turned in her chair and took Thorne's face in her hands. "I'd rather show."

Then she kissed him, trying to show him everything she felt now and had felt for him since she'd met him. Unlike the kiss in the office, it was not quick and hurried. She took her time before she pulled away, memorizing the way his lips felt and nearly getting swept away by emotion.

When she drew back, Thorne looked slightly dazed.

"I'm ready now," she said, biting on her lip bashfully when she remembered they were in public.

"You cheated," he said. Thorne threw some bills on the table and waved at Julian and Josh, who had noticed them getting to their feet.

"Cheated?"

He put his hand on her back, guiding her out the narrow space between tables. "I told you I wanted to take my time the next time I kissed you."

"And that wasn't enough time?"

Thorne dragged his thumb across his lower lip. "Cress, why do you think we're going back to my place if that was supposed to be enough time?"

As he bent his lips to whisper a few more of his thoughts in her ear, Cress's knees grew weak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Thorne's apartment. 0:)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers with gentle hearts like mine: This chapter in particular is more adult with racy themes and actions between adults. That being said, I don't think it goes into "mature" territory because there is nothing explicit or anything you wouldn't see in a PG-13 movie. And...let's be real...we're on A03. Still, you have been warned that this is probably the raciest chapter I've ever written. To everyone else who reads smutty fanfiction, that is probably a joke. I hope you enjoy the romance anyway! -LLC

Riding up the elevator with Strom to Thorne's apartment was one of the most convicting things that Cress had ever done. It was impossible not to squirm with Thorne standing at her side. His hand kept itself busy trailing over her back and with each of her glances at him, his devilish dimples seemed to deepen.

But it was easier to look at him than her bodyguard. Strom stared them down, his knowing look making her feel like a nun who was about to escape the convent with a known incubus.

He might as well have been. Every touch from Thorne gave her an exquisite shiver, tempting her to throw her arms around him and kiss him against the wall of the elevator.

She couldn't believe that she had built up all of these fantasies about him and now some of them might actually come true.

It wasn't playing out exactly the same way as she had imagined from the start, since their tale had included some near-death experiences. But this was her reward, she told herself. All of the chaos related to this project had brought her and Thorne closer together.

Even if they weren't currently in Paris, overlooking the Eiffel Tower—where her fantasies had brought her of late.

She shivered again and Thorne grabbed her by the waist, drawing her hip to his.

"We'd appreciate it if you would give us some privacy tonight, Strom," Thorne said.

The elevator dinged.

All Strom said was, "After you." Then he stepped aside and put his shades back on.

Cress's insides were full of anticipation and butterflies and squealy jitters.

She let Thorne lead her out of the elevator, trying to send a pleading look over her shoulder to Strom. They didn't have the same rapport as her and Kesley, but she hoped he had a heart somewhere underneath his steel gazes and alpha male bravado.

But heart or not, it was one thing to know what she was about to do; it was another thing entirely to know that Strom also knew. Was it bad that this both embarrassed her and gave her a little thrill?

"Enjoy your evening," Strom said officially.

Cress and Thorne stopped to acknowledge him. With his shades back on, he was all cool business. And cool business with Strom meant everything he said sounded like a snarl. He stayed straight-backed by the elevator door.

"Don't you need to inspect Thorne's apartment?" Cress said. "'Suspicious activity' and all?"

Next to her, Thorne groaned. "Seriously, Cress?"

"Since the two of you have shown… _affections_ …," Strom said, his lip curling, "we've had a surveillance team monitoring Mr. Thorne's apartment as well."

"Excuse me?" Thorne let go of Cress and crossed his arms. "You wired my apartment?"

"Of course not. We've merely taken to monitoring the foot traffic in the apartment and on your floor. You'll be pleased to learn that no one has been on this floor besides your neighbors in the last hour. And, more importantly, no one has entered your apartment since you left to pick up Miss Darnel. I think, for tonight, it is safe for the two of you to enter on your own."

The happy-jittery feeling inside Cress returned at his words. They were safe and they could be alone. They didn't have to think about the fact that Strom would still be stationed outside of Thorne's apartment all night.

If she didn't see him, he wasn't there. Her imagination could help her out at this moment.

Maybe transport them to Paris.

Longing stirred inside of her.

Thorne, however, was still scowling. " _Pleased schmeased_. My company is the one who hired your team. You have to let a guy know that you're monitoring his every move."

"On the contrary, Mr. Thorne. Our contract indicates that Miss Darnel is our priority. And, by extension, that now includes you and your…activities with Miss Darnel." It was barely noticeable, but Cress saw a slight wrinkle of his nose. "There is no surveillance inside either of your apartments. We may be private security, but we don't wish to see everything…private." His face was a stone mask.

Cress's, on the other hand, burned like a flame. "And…that's all we need from Strom, then, isn't it, Thorne?" she said, turning on her heels and hurrying down the hallway without him.

No sooner than she was standing in front of his door did the sound of his shoes hustling down the hallway follow. Cress tried to forget that Strom had ever been there and drew in a shaky breath.

 _This was_ really _happening_.

"Hey there, darlin'," Thorne said, bending to whisper in her ear. He placed himself directly behind her and, with one hand, he stuck his keys into the lock, and with the other hand he pulled Cress to him by her stomach.

He began to kiss behind her ear, then down her neck.

Cress sucked in another breath but this time it was because she thought she might melt into his touch. She closed her eyes as his other hand withdrew from the lock and wrapped around her as well. He held her like she was a precious doll, kissing her sweetly and slowly like he had all the time in the world.

Cress leaned back against him, putting her hands over his and relishing in the moment. She was safe and protected here, and not because of any surveillance. She was with Carswell Thorne, who was no longer an untouchable Greek god. No, the real Carswell Thorne was way better than anything her fantasies could conjure up.

And he was here with her, holding her, because he _wanted_ to be. Because he had felt that same soul connection between them that she had.

"Would you like to come inside?" Thorne whispered, stopping with his lips against her ear.

Cress tried to come back to reality. They were still standing in the hallway. Unsure if she would be able to speak coherently, she just nodded.

As if he was just as unwilling to break contact too, Thorne toed open the door and proceeded to move the two of them inside, his feet straddled around hers. He tightened his hold around her playfully, nuzzling his nose into her neck like a puppy, making her burst out in giggles. He laughed too and, only then, after shutting the door behind them, did Thorne let go of her.

She hadn't been to his apartment since the last time she had slept over and their circumstances had been much different. It was still just as impressive as it had been then, with its ocean view and modern decor.

Deciding not to wait for his move, she hesitantly crossed the hotel-turned-apartment until she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. The waves crashed against the rocks below her, soundless inside the apartment.

"Looking at the moon?" Thorne said, coming to stand behind her. His arms encircled her waist again, but he just stared out alongside her.

She glanced up at the crescent moon, almost hidden by clouds in the dark horizon. "Just thinking."

"Anything in particular?"

She hummed happily. "Last time I was here, we were strangers. And now…"

"Now things have changed."

She nodded silently.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Thorne went to his fridge. "Some wine?"

Cress turned away from the window, leaving her thoughts behind her. Thorne stood with the fridge open, a handsome smile on his face. He was sexy against the backdrop of the lights that illuminated the counter. Of course, he managed to make any smile look unbelievably sexy.

"I'm good, thank you."

Thorne shut the fridge, making Cress realize that the rest of the lights in the apartment were off. "Hungry?" he asked, seeming suddenly uncertain. His hand landed on the fridge's handle like he had been silly to close it.

Cress just waited, giving him a smile that she hoped was laced with meaning.

And desire.

She hoped it was laced with desire.

Because she was having a hard time figuring out why Thorne was bothering with wine and food when she was only a few feet away from him.

"I'll take that as a no," he commented, running a hand through his hair. "Not thirsty either. An easy guest to please."

"Ah," she said, deciding to go along with his comment. He was acting much less confident than he had been only a few minutes ago. "Do you have many guests?"

He laughed. "Not any of particular note. And none that I want to discuss right now."

She batted her eyes at him and twirled a long lock of hair. "What do you want to discuss?"

He swallowed and took a step toward her. "Nothing of particular note, either."

She nodded, fully in agreement, still twirling her hair. She supposed she was doing it right, because Thorne stumbled toward her, a bit like he had when she had invited him to sleep next to her after the restaurant shooting.

Like he couldn't believe it was happening.

"Except," he said, coming to stand in front of her, "things that involve me and you."

She tilted her head up to look him in the eyes. They were blue and piercing, full of questions that she thought she might have answers to.

He tucked the strand of hair she was playing with behind her ear. Let his fingers trail down her neck. His expression turned almost hesitant. "Cress…I… _you_ …"

"I know," she said, taking his hand in hers, wondering how she had turned into the confident one of the two. But his hesitancy was almost endearing, and certainly charming, and she felt herself filling with even more desire.

Thorne had a weakness.

And it was her.

"I've been waiting for this too," she said. "And I've been waiting all night for you to make good on your promises at the bar."

He broke into a grin, first a relieved one, then—there it was—a confident one, the one that made it seem like he had the world at his knees with just a smile.

With a hand on her back, he pulled her up on her toes as he bent down. Their lips met, both shy at first, taking time to get used to each other again. This was only their third kiss, after all, but his mouth made her believe that it would be the third of thousands.

His hand against her back was cautious, less confident than it had been in the elevator when his touch had only been a tease. Now, his fingertips swept cautiously over her back, leaving a tingling trail at every movement. His other hand held the back of her head like he worried she would fall apart if he let her go. But as he deepened the kiss, she knew that he held onto her that way because it was _he_ who would fall apart if she let go.

Cress fisted her hands in his hair, letting out a low moan as Thorne found the perfect rhythm against her tongue. She kissed him back, perhaps harder than she should have, but it was the exact thing that Thorne apparently needed to gain back all of his confidence.

His hands skated down her backside, grabbing firmly onto her thighs. He lifted her up until she was the same height as him and her legs were wrapped securely around his hips. Cress thought she might have died and gone to heaven.

Thorne walked slowly, never letting go of her lips, carrying the two of them across the apartment and cursing into her mouth when he stubbed his toe against the leg of his couch. She laughed and they fell onto the couch, Thorne still half-standing and Cress's legs dangling over the armrest.

She crawled backward until she was lying fully stretched out on the cushions. Thorne dropped his wallet and phone on the coffee table and followed her, not bothering to step around the armrest but simply climbing over it.

He stopped when his face was right over hers, hovering like he was afraid to squish her. Little did he know, she wouldn't mind being squished at all.

She pulled him down on top of her but had to take a steadying breath at her overwhelming emotions.

"Hey," said Thorne, propping himself up on one elbow. "Are you okay?"

"Never been better," she whispered.

His eyes trailed over her face. "You're shaking."

Cress's face was already heated, but a blush on her cheeks warmed her even more. "I'm a little nervous."

Thorne's brow creased and he propped himself up even more. Running his fingers through her long hair, he said, "Good-nervous or you-want-to-stop-nervous? Both are okay with me." He kissed her forehead. "We can spend the rest of the night lying here—watching TV, talking."

Cress swallowed and shook her head as she looked into his blue, blue eyes. "No. I mean, that sounds lovely too, just spending time together. But I would rather spend time together like this tonight." She hooked a leg around his and forced his mouth back to hers with her arms around his neck.

He allowed her a short peck, then pulled away with a smile. "So it's a good nervous."

"Extremely good."

"Well, then...," he said, lowering himself until he was completely on top of her again and his lips met her neck. "Allow me to ease those nerves."

And then Thorne was kissing her neck again, but slowly, almost torturously. He made his way up, finding her mouth again and spending time building her into a frenzy before traveling down the other side of her neck again. With her eyes closed, she tilted her head back on the couch, allowing him more access. She had been holding onto his back but she found it felt amazing to just stretch her hands over her head and allow Thorne to take over completely.

Smooth fingers ran down the column of her throat. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about this since the first time you slept over," he said between kisses. He was working on her collarbone now. "Knowing you were up there in my bed, Cress…"

"Mmmm."

"When I was down here, all alone, all I wanted to do was go up there." The feeling of him getting up made Cress open her eyes mutinously. He shifted back onto his knees and stared down at her, his eyes heady. "Stars, you're beautiful."

Cress reached out her hand for him. He took it, but instead of coming back down he just kissed her knuckles.

"I remember that story differently," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? How would you know what I was thinking?"

"You were sleeping within five minutes. I saw you."

A wicked grin spread over his face. "You watched me while I was sleeping? How improper of you, Miss Darnel."

She tried to playfully kick him with the foot that was still sort of around his leg, but barely. She ended up just tapping him in the back of his thigh. "That's not the point."

"I think it is." He reached down and grabbed her foot, dropping it to the side of his leg. "Now that I know you, I think you were thinking the same thing, Cress." Before she could respond, he had let go of her hand and bent down. Very slowly, he inched his hands up her legs, dragging her T-shirt dress up with him. "I think you were hoping I would join you too."

"I was," she said breathlessly.

When he reached the end of her leggings, he pushed the long shirt just a bit further. His hand skimmed over her stomach, circling her navel. "That's excellent news," he said absentmindedly, beginning to kiss across her stomach.

Cress's back arched at the new sensation, but his hands were busy keeping her down by the waist. Her eyes rolled closed. She grabbed onto the back of his head, threading her fingers through his thick hair, silently forcing him to stay there too.

He laughed against her belly, his hot breath tickling her where his mouth had just been. He moved up her rib, making her squirm under his touch.

When she had regained enough composure to sneak a glance at him, all she could see over the bunched up shirt was the tip of his hair.

That wouldn't do.

She let go of his hair and tugged at her shirt until it was at her neck. Thorne lifted his head when he noticed what she was doing and reached over to help her take it off completely. As he dropped it on the table behind her head, he let out a breathy exhale.

Then he was crawling over her, his belt buckle digging into her stomach as he kissed her without abandon. It was him who moaned this time, sliding his hands under her bare back and somehow managing to pull her halfway onto his lap. He shifted to sit back on his heels; Cress dug her knees into the couch and settled over him.

She edged closer. His kisses became more frantic.

She dragged her lower lip along his jawline, feeling the slight hint of stubble from a recently shaven face. It was her turn now, and though she was quite out of practice with this sort of thing, Cress had always prided herself on being a quick learner. And now, with Thorne, everything came back so naturally, like she had just been bottling her kisses in jar after jar, waiting to free them all upon his arrival.

And with the way that Thorne clutched at her back, the way he dug his fingertips into her skin, it reminded her that she, too, might have a chance at leaving him breathless.

He pulled away, looking apologetic. "Sorry, sorry. My ankles are going to give out. This cushion wasn't made for two people." Cress sat back as Thorne untangled himself from her, which was a less-than-easy-feat based on the way he wobbled and hit his shin on the coffee table.

When he righted himself, he extended his hand. "Would you like to move this upstairs?"

Cress's eyes skated up Thorne's form until she met his lustful gaze. He pulled her to her feet but they only made it a few steps before they fell back onto the couch. They laughed into each other's mouths and pulled each other closer, neither of them wanting the other to be away for more than a second.

Her whole body trembled, but in a delicious, delirious kind of way. Whenever their mouths separated, his breath crashed with hers, hot and sweet, before renewed pressure was applied to her lips.

"Stars, Cress, at this rate I'm never going to get you upstairs," he moaned, clearly unfazed by this development.

Cress was undoing his shirt, though, also unfazed. She didn't really care where they were. All she knew was that she wanted him close to her, _now_ , and that walking up the stairs would mean time away from him.

"Here is fine," she said, already beginning to explore the planes of his chest. He was warm and muscular and just broad enough for her liking.

And now, with his unbuttoned shirt, things were mirroring her fantasies much more directly.

"Cress," he gasped, grabbing at her hands to pull them away from his skin. "Whether we move or not, I still have to go upstairs to get something." As he held her hands in his, he gave her a pointed look. "I'd rather you come with me. It's more comfortable up there and..."

" _Oh_. Of course. You're right. We should go upstairs." She nodded and dropped her hands quickly.

Thorne got to his feet again and seemed to want to keep her at arm's length as he helped her out of the couch. "I'd offer to carry you up the stairs but let's be real here. That is one weird plastic spiral staircase and I would probably pitch both of us over the side in my attempt to be romantic."

Cress trailed her fingers over his lips. "Or we would end up making out on the stairs."

"Or that," he admitted.

They both laughed and Thorne laced his fingers with hers. But Cress let go and jogged up the stairs ahead of him.

"Eager, are we?" he called after her.

He didn't have to know that she was just a tad self-conscious about walking around the apartment without her shirt on. It wasn't that Thorne himself made her feel bad about her body — on the contrary — but this was new and she needed time to get used to him seeing her like this before she felt confident enough to just walk around the apartment.

When she reached the top of the loft and spotted the gigantic mirror that framed his bed, she ducked into the bathroom. She checked her appearance there instead.

"I'll be right out!" she called, taking a deep breath as she smoothed down her hair in front of the mirror.

"Take your time," he called back.

When she was satisfied with her appearance, she drew back her shoulders and stepped out into the loft.

Thorne was lying on his side in the bed. His lips grew into the biggest grin when he saw her.

She smiled shyly back, still a little intimidated by both him and the mirrors.

"I am the luckiest guy in the world," he said, beckoning for her to join him. "I fly all over the world and hardly ever meet anyone worth getting to know. And then I get assigned to the project I didn't want to take and meet _you_."

Cress sat down on the bed. He pulled her towards him.

"And now you're here. Even though I never thought in a million years this would happen because we work on the same project." His brow crinkled. "And you're still okay with that? The fact that we work together?"

"I think you need to stop worrying and start kissing me." She blushed at her forwardness, but really, this was not the time to talk. Not when she had been preparing herself for this the entire night.

He grinned, his dimples so deep they threatened to make her heart burst with joy. He pulled her over him and rolled until she had her back against the mattress. He nipped at her bottom lip. "I think you're telling me to shut up."

"You do talk a lot in general," she said, giving him a playful nip back.

"Of course I do." He kissed her mouth, making her eyes close. "Talking is one of my strengths."

"I'm interested in other strengths right now," she whispered as he moved to nibble on her ear like he had at the restaurant.

His finger trailed down her stomach. "Oh really?" he murmured. Her skin prickled into goosebumps. All she could do was nod and hope that he got it.

When he pulled back to take off his shirt, her heart began to race.

"You…are also… _wow_ ," she choked out, eyes glued to his form.

He smirked. "I'd respond but someone told me to shut up."

"Get down here," she said, reaching for him.

"Flip over."

Her lips parted. "W-what?"

"Trust me. Flip over."

A little hesitantly, Cress did as he asked, rolling onto her stomach. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but she really just wanted to have him close, kiss him, and maybe remove some more articles of clothing.

She glanced over her shoulder questioningly at Thorne, whose knees were straddling her legs. But then pushed himself down on top of her so abruptly the breath nearly left her. His mouth was hot on her lips in an instant, showing her how much he had the same desires.

He pulled away from her lips and eased a little weight off her. "I told you I wanted to take my time kissing you," he said into her ear, his voice low. "And that's what I plan to do." He brushed her hair aside. "I'm going to kiss every inch of you, Cress Darnel, like I wanted to do that night."

She whimpered as he shifted against her again, beginning his ministrations on the back of her shoulders. His weight against her was as delicious as his kisses. His attention on her back made her feel warm and loved and admired.

He worked his way lower and lower, his lips grazing and nibbling and sucking. He pushed her bra strap aside, making sure to not miss a single inch as he had promised.

Cress couldn't take it anymore. He had worked her into a frenzy and if she didn't have him now she would burst. She rolled over, taking him by surprise and dragging his mouth to hers. They groaned together at the contact, reassuring her that Thorne was just as ready as she was.

He could kiss every inch of her later. They had the whole night to themselves. They would surely have the whole morning as well — maybe even day — for Thorne to make good on his promise.

To take it slow.

Slow was not what she wanted right now. Not when she was overcome with desire from each torturous kiss. Not when she had waited for this moment since the day she had met him.

She had stoppered it down. Tried to ignore it at work. Forced herself to be professional when really she had wanted to ravish him at every moment of slight contact at the office.

"Thorne," she said urgently.

"Carswell," he said, just as urgently, pinning her down with all of his weight and reclaiming her mouth. "I want you to call me Carswell."

She nodded against his lips and filled with more need at the thought of being allowed to call him by his first name, his real name.

" _Carswell_."

As if she had given him a command, his mouth moved hungrily down. Down, down, down and—

_BAM!_

Thorne froze as Cress let out a shocked cry. They both looked instantaneously at the railing.

Cress couldn't see the door from where she was laying on the bed but that had to have been the sound of it breaking down by force. Her mind tried to catch up with what was happening. Someone else was in the apartment!

Thorne's eyes were wide as he scrambled off the bed.

"Strom—"

Thorne muffled her words with his hand. "Hide," he said urgently.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are."

All of the pent up nerves that Thorne had just spent so much time winding up inside of her turned to ice cold fear at the sound of the teasing male voice. A voice that was accompanied by many footsteps.

Thorne dove under the bed. In a minute, he had pulled himself out, carrying a _gun_.

" _Why do you have a gun?"_ she said, her jaw dropping open.

"For situations like this," he growled. He pointed his gun at the stairway and stalked around the bed. He stooped to pick up his shirt and threw it at Cress. "Put this on."

"Oh, lovebirds," sang the teasing voice, "won't you come out and let others join the party?"

Cress's fear turned to panic. This had to be Sybil Mira's men. It was the only thing that made sense. They had failed to kill them before and now they were here, at Thorne's apartment, to finish the job. Cress was barely able to close the buttons on Thorne's shirt because her hands were trembling so much.

If only she hadn't left her phone downstairs in her purse. If only Thorne hadn't taken his phone out of his pocket.

"What do you want?" Thorne called, ducking behind the wall of the staircase.

Cress didn't know where to go. Should she hide under the bed? Run into the bathroom and risk being seen? But even as she told herself to move, she could only focus on Thorne's crouched form, the gun in his hand like he held one every day.

"Ah," said the man pleasantly. "There he is, boys." Someone else laughed.

Cress's eyes moved to the railing as two men wearing masks and carrying guns came into view.

"You have two options," he continued, but it came from a different part of the apartment. Not either of the men Cress could see. "You can either come down here and have a chat with us or we can shoot our way upstairs. We both know you'll be out of bullets before all of us are dead."

Thorne's bare chest rose and fell as he seemed to seriously consider the man's words.

"There are at least three of them," she whispered.

 _Get off the bed_ , he mouthed.

"What's this?" drawled the man, still not coming into view. More footsteps walked around the apartment — too many of them. "A framed photo with a friend? Aw. Didn't realize you kept friends. Or is this picture photoshopped, Thorne?"

Thorne closed his eyes, leaning his head against the plastic of the staircase.

Cress was trying to string together coherent thoughts. Why was the man talking like he knew Thorne? What picture was he talking about?

"I will pick off each and every one of you," Thorne called over his shoulder. His eyes were fixed on Cress though. "I have the advantage up here. Target practice, really."

Bullets riddled the ceiling. Cress screamed and dove under the bed as Thorne just flinched behind the staircase.

"Those were warning shots. Tell me, Thorne, would you rather the girl watch you die in front of her while we take her with us? Or would you rather come with us? Make sure people like Aimery keep their hands off her?"

Thorne turned around, his gun pointed almost through the railing, though most of his body was still hidden by the staircase. "You're not taking her anywhere, Jerrico," he growled. "That wasn't part of the deal."

"What wasn't part of the deal was you bailing on us, Thorne. Now we'll do as we please."

Thorne fired a shot. Cress screamed as she saw a man fall to the ground.

"Get them," said the man, the cheery tone leaving his voice.

Thorne fired bullet after bullet, and Cress screamed unabashedly as bullets flew up into the loft, narrowly missing both her and Thorne. When one flew through the mattress, Thorne stopped firing and yelled frantically, "Wait! You'll kill her too!"

The men stopped firing as well. The man named Jerrico tutted. "You killed two of my men, Thorne."

Just then, another man with a mask appeared silently on the stairs, having somehow snuck up during the gunfire. He pointed his gun at Cress right as Thorne noticed him — just a second too late. "One move and your girl won't be as happy as she was a few minutes ago."

Thorne trained his gun on the man anyway. "You won't kill her."

Cress, who had become immobile under the bed, wanted to ask him how he could possibly be so sure but her mind was spinning with more questions than that. Once again, she faced the barrel of a gun. But this was a fancier gun, with a longer nozzle that told her no one would hear it if this man shot her.

Another masked man appeared in the staircase behind the first one, pointing his gun at Cress as well.

"We just need her hands, Thorne," Jericho called. "Would she be fine without, say, a few of her toes? My friend Jacin up there is a great shot. Your pick. but make any more moves and I'll make _personally_ sure she suffers."

"And then we'll kill you too," said one of the men. He trained his gun on Thorne instead of Cress.

Thorne swallowed hard as he kept his gun fixed on the first man. "You're going to kill me anyway."

Cress was dizzy with fear. "Wait! Please don't hurt him! Is this about the project? The government project?"

"Nice to hear from you, Miss Darnel," Jerrico called.

"Just leave her alone," Thorne said weakly.

"How's the situation going up there, boys?"

The man who was pointing the gun at Cress said, "She's under the bed."

"I'm tired, Thorne. I want to go home and see the wife. Have my night end buried between her legs. But me being out here in San Diego chasing your ass doesn't let me do that. That makes me even crankier than the fact that you killed two of my men. I'm giving you two more seconds to surrender and hand over the girl before I follow through on my threats. One—"

"Okay, okay," said Thorne, laying down his gun. He held up his hands as the man who was pointing the gun at Cress kicked him in the gut. He doubled over, coughing.

The other guy move toward the bed. Though she had been ready to surrender on behalf of Thorne, fear dug its claws back into her and she tried to get further under the bed near the wall. She screamed as someone grabbed her ankle and pulled her out. He held her to him with a fierce yank on her arm.

"Cress," said Thorne, wheezing, "this isn't what it looks like." The man wrestled him to the ground and pinned him down.

"It's exactly what it looks like," said Jerrico as he stomped up the stairs. "But he can explain all that to you later, sugar." He laughed. "Or not. I doubt he'll have his tongue intact by the time we're done with him."

"Please," Cress said desperately, "just leave us alone."

"Still loyal to him, are we? You did good, then, Thorne," said Jerrico, revealing a small suitcase at his side. He strode to the bed and placed it on the messy covers. He shot a wink at Cress. "Real good."

"Cress," Thorne sobbed as the man holding him pushed his face onto the floor with his boot, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Jerrico ignored both of them. Cress's eyes flitted between him and Thorne. Thorne, who had clearly done something bad here, something to get them into this mess. Who might, she realized, even be a part of this entire sinister plot. But when she realized what Jerrico was doing, she couldn't think about Thorne's intentions anymore.

Renewed panic filled her.

He retrieved a long syringe from within the suitcase. "This is going to hurt, sugar, but after that you won't feel a thing."

Cress began to struggle against the man, thrashing wildly until the man who was still on the stairs came to help hold her still. On the ground, Thorne just lay there, completely unmoving and defeated as tears stained his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he said again.

Jerrico approached with the syringe.

"Get away from me!" she screamed, still trying to hit her captors.

"We'll be spending a lot of time together, Miss Darnel, so I'm afraid I can't do that. Now, be a good girl and don't struggle or we might nick something undesirable."

She struggled anyway, trying so hard to wiggle away from them in any way. But Jerrico grabbed her arm and managed to stick in the needle. She cried out at the intrusion and gritted her teeth when a strong burning filled her veins.

The second the needle was out, the men released her. She moved to Thorne, wanting to believe that this was all a terrible nightmare. But Jerrico was making his way to Thorne too, holding another syringe, and pushed her out of the way.

She stared dumbly as Jerrico injected her shirtless Greek god.

The one who had turned out to be of the Hades variety.

The world began to tilt. Thorne grew blurry.

Cress stumbled over to the railing, needing to hold on to something. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was another masked person entering the room, dragging the limp, bloodied body of her bodyguard.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

Cress struggled to open her eyes. Her vision blurred and shifted, and her head pounded. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. Her elbows met scratchy material. When her vision cleared, her eyes settled on a brown blanket covering most of her body.

It was not her blanket.

She gasped and sat up, looking around her wildly. There were blank, white walls all around her. She was in a bed — no, a cot.

And she was not alone.

Cress screamed and scrambled onto her knees, drawing the blanket up like a weapon. A shield. Anything to keep her from accepting her new reality.

She was no longer at Thorne's apartment. They had been ambushed. Strom was dead. The guy — _Jericco, had that been his name_? — had injected her with something.

And Thorne…Thone had somehow been a part of it.

"Welcome back," said the man who stood in the doorway. He was tall and young, with piercing eyes that contrasted sharply against his dark skin. He was smiling, and if that smile had not driven fear into Cress's heart, she might have thought him handsome. But his smile made her feel like she was a delicious meal to be devoured.

The gun in his hand didn't help.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Her voice was barely more than a squeak.

The man's grin grew and he pushed the door to the room shut with his heel. He stalked over to her cot as Cress tried to figure out how she could escape. She was good at virtual escape scenarios in video games, and always the first out in Escape Rooms, but this was another thing entirely. All she could do was cower in the corner, her blanket still raised.

Maybe she could suffocate him with it.

"No need to be afraid, Miss Darnel," said the man. He smirked. "Not yet, at least."

"Who are you?" she demanded again. "What do you want?"

"Me? I'm just looking to make your acquaintance."

Her lip trembled, but she managed to say, "You can't make someone's acquaintance if you don't know their name."

"Depends on the acquaintance."

His eyes roved over her, and she was thankful for the blanket. As his eyes lingered on her face, she realized with a start that she was still wearing Thorne's shirt, and she pulled the blanket up to her chin now, unsure of how many buttons were open.

"You're certainly not bad to look at," he continued, taking a step closer. "A bit short, I suppose. I've always liked long hair, though. I'm sure you can guess why."

Cress's hand flew to her hair. It was down, falling over her shoulders. She pulled it up behind her neck. "Get away from me."

The man's eyes glinted. "I can see why Thorne would take an interest. There's something…oh, I don't know… _intriguing_ about nerdy girls. Most of them have never even had a boyfriend, after all. And they're able to keep their imaginations open."

A sharp pang when through her heart at the thought of Thorne. And though the man in front of her made her want to throw up, she had to keep him distracted.

"Where is Thorne?"

"Around."

"So, he's alive?"

"Honey, don't think about him." He reached for her face and Cress flinched.

"Touch me and I'll bite you."

He chuckled. "Still fanning a flame, I see. But look around you, honey. That door is locked. Where are you gonna go?" He waved his gun at the door. "Best to just calm down a little. It'll make everything easier. We're going to be spending a lot of time together."

There was a bang, and Cress thought, for a moment, that he had shot her. But she had no pain, and the man was turning around, and the door — it was open.

An Asian girl with a ponytail strode in, glowering. "What are you doing in here, Aimery?" she hissed. "You were given explicit instructions not to interact with Cress."

"I'm not interacting…" He shot a wink at Cress. "Not yet."

"Get out!"

Aimery drew his gun, but the girl was lightning quick. As they faced off, each holding the gun in the other's face, Cress's eyes widened. _The girl had a metal hand_.

"I said, get out, Aimery," she growled.

After a long moment, Aimery held up his hands in surrender. "Chill out, Cyborg. We both know you're not going to kill me." He stashed the gun in his pants even as Cinder kept her weapon trained on him. He strolled toward the door lazily, then glanced back at Cress over his shoulder. "See you later, honey."

When the door had clicked shut behind him, the girl stashed her gun too. "Sorry about that." She approached Cress. "He wasn't supposed to be back here, but Aimery tends to do his own thing. I guess we can't like everyone we work with."

From the way the girl was talking, it was almost like Cress was her friend. Like she was less threatening. But knowing that she worked with that creepy guy called Aimery made Cress trust her even less. People who pretended to be friends when they were really enemies were much more dangerous in the long run.

"What do you want?" Cress whispered. "Why are you keeping me here?"

The girl rubbed her forehead tiredly. She had dirt on her cheek which remained when she dropped her hand. "I'm sorry for the way you were treated. I didn't want to send Jericco but he is the best at collecting people when people need to be collected." She sighed. "Another person I have to work with even if I think he's a sadistic troll. Did he hurt you?"

" _What do you want_?" Cress repeated. "Why are you keeping me here? Are you a spy?"

The girl laughed, but it sounded uncomfortable. "Stars, no. Unfortunately, Cress, I can't give you the information that you're looking for. But I do need your help with that government project you've been working on."

"Why?"

"Again, I can't tell you, or it would have been easy to approach you on the street and give you that information, don't you think?" She gestured around, her metal hand moving just as rapidly as her natural one. "Hence all the secrecy in getting you here."

Cress drew her knees into her chest. "Where's Thorne?"

The girl looked uncomfortable again. "Do you really want to know? Even though you now know he conned you?"

A nervous feeling bubbled in her stomach, and she worried that she might cry. She hadn't figured out yet what exactly Thorne had done, but this girl had just confirmed that Thorne had deceived her. Her heart hurt so badly. Only hours ago — or, she supposed, she really had no concept of how long ago it had been, but it felt like hours ago to her — she had been at Thorne's apartment.

In his bed.

Memories of his kisses crashed around her, and she had to choke back a sob.

" _I want you to call me Carswell_ ," he had said.

"Um," said the girl, rubbing at her neck, "I feel like I should ask you if you're okay, but I'm sure the response is obvious. So, um, maybe we should move on. If Thorne had done his job, you wouldn't be here."

Cress gasped, and mingled with the tears she was trying to suppress, it came out like a violent cough.

"Oh! I didn't mean you wouldn't be here like you would be _dead_. Thorne was supposed to extract information. He failed, so we had to bring you here before someone else could get to you first."

Cress wiped her eyes. "Extract information. About the project?"

The girl nodded. "So, are you ready to get to work?"

Cress blinked.

"To work on the project," the girl clarified.

"I'm not doing anything for you."

The girl looked down and scrubbed at something on her metal hand. "Listen, Cress, I'm trying to be nice here. I really hope you'll cooperate with me so none of the guys get the idea that you won't. I've been studying your profile for a while and I convinced them that you would cooperate. It's really important that you cooperate, Cress. I'll make sure nothing happens to you if you do."

"Nothing happens to me?" Cress had to steady her voice. "I was shot at! I was assaulted! I was injected with _stars_ knows what and brought here to this cell where I awoke to some sort of rapist hovering over me as I slept! And now you expect me to cooperate with you? Give me one reason!"

"To stay alive?"

"So it's cooperate or be killed?"

"Unfortunately, there are also alternate scenarios to death. My team has ways of making people cooperate and none of them even involve Aimery. Please, Cress, let's just make this easy for everyone. We want help with this project and you're the one who holds the key to that." She gave Cress a small smile and in that moment, a flicker of recognition went through Cress's muddled brain.

"But you're…you're Cinder! You're Thorne's best friend from Chicago!"

"Best friend? I haven't seen Thorne since college, Cress." Something dawned on her. "Ah. It was probably the cover he was using."

"But—but—his _cat_. Boots! And now, you're working with Thorne!"

"Behind the scenes, yeah. He doesn't know I work for the team that hired him. I'm afraid that's all I can say. Oh, except that Boots died when Thorne was in college. Sorry."

A thousand thoughts went through her brain. She would have more time to sort through them later. For now, a renewed bout of unbridled fear coursed through her. She tried to grasp on anything that made sense. "But I met _Kai_! He asked about you!"

Cinder's eyebrows shot up and she looked like she wanted to say something, but she just shook her head. "Nothing was real, Cress. You might as well get used to that. Now, will you come with me of your own volition? I really don't want Aimery coming back in here."

 _People who pretended to be friends when they were really enemies were much more dangerous in the long run_ **,** Cress reminded herself. Still, Aimery's predatory smile helped her make up her mind.

"Where are we going?"

Cinder sighed with relief. "To our mainframe. It's not as fancy as Satellite Technologies, but it does have more cutting edge tech. We have lots of things here that aren't on the market yet. I'm sure you'll be interested in them."

Maybe on another day, Cress would've indeed been interested. But with a heavy heart and such fear for her life, she couldn't garner up any excitement at all. All she could do was slosh through memories of her and Thorne. The day she had met him had seemed like fate had finally shone its light on her miserable love life. Everything between them had presented itself so naturally — each meeting, each run-in in the hallway, each shared look.

All of it, contrived. Cinder said Thorne had used her to extract information.

Instead he had extracted her heart.

No one cared that she didn't know how to get it back now. And somehow, she had to deal with that while she fought for her life. Because she had understood Cinder's message loud and clear. If she didn't do what they wanted, they would torture her. She didn't know if she could withstand torture. She had never needed to think about such things, obviously. Only in videogames had she toyed with battles and gunfights and captivity.

But if they were not spies, and they were not working for the government, perhaps they were connected to whatever weird vibe Cress had been getting from the project. It hadn't seemed like anything connected to the government at all.

Or maybe, she realized, this "team" was what she would consider the _bad_ spies.

"Sybil Mira."

Cinder turned around at Cress's comment. Cress straightened up, closing the last two buttons on Thorne's shirt so even her neck was covered. All the while, she studied Cinder and the door. Maybe, if she went along with Cinder's game peaceably, she could find a way to escape. She didn't have to trust Cinder, but maybe she could get Cinder to trust her. It was a long shot, and Cress still had no idea where she was, but she did know that she was smart. She wouldn't be a prodigy if she weren't. She wouldn't be _here_ if she weren't.

"Yes, Sybil Mira," she repeated.

Cinder's brow furrowed. "What about her?"

"Was that all a set up? Was that a pretend ambush to make me…trust T-Thorne?" Stars, she could barely get his name out without tripping on it. "To make me think she was the bad guy, not him?"

"Sorry to tell you, Cress, but there's more than one bad guy in this game."


	19. Chapter 19

Someone was shining a spotlight directly against his eyelids. He turned his head. The light vanished.

"Carswell Thorne," said a voice, all business. "Our conversation is being recorded. Choose your answers wisely."

"Then let me go."

"Thorne."

"And stop blinding me."

There was a dramatic sigh. "It was my flashlight. I was making sure your injuries wouldn't do any permanent damage."

Hang on a sec. He recognized that voice.

Thorne forced one eye open — the one which wasn't sealed shut from being punched in the face repeatedly.

His cell was dimly lit, and the tray of torture apparatuses had been removed. Not that they'd used anything last night. A few guys holding him back and Aimery beating the crap out of him had been enough for him to talk. The guys were gone now. At the side of his cot stood a woman who was all angles rather than curves.

"Carswell Thorne," she started again.

"Aces, Cinder, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Carswell Thorne — "

"Don't call me Carswell."

Her lips pursed. "You didn't have any problem with Cress calling you that."

Thorne's fist clenched, his bloodied knuckles protesting against the movement. He kept his face neutral. "I needed to keep my cover."

"Supposedly."

"It's true. I was paid to get to know her. Shouldn't friends call each other by their first names?"

"Do you sleep with all your friends?"

He gave her a cocky smile, though with his split lip from the guys he didn't know if it would have the same effect as usual. "Why? Interested in finding out what you've been missing all these years?"

"We are not friends."

Thorne rolled back on his cot and closed his one working eye. "I saw Kai a couple weeks ago. He asked about you. Wanted your number."

"I — I don't know who you're referring to."

"Drop the act, Cinder. Jerrico saw us in a photo together at my apartment. I told Cress you were my best friend. I left out some of the most important details about that friendship ending, but we can't lie that we used to care for each other."

Cinder shifted. "That was a different life, Thorne."

"Clearly, if you're here. What the hell happened to you?"

"I'll be asking the questions. Now, you were paid a large sum of money to get to know Cress Darnel for code name Lunar Gift. You were paid to extract information from her and report back. Then you stopped giving reports, claiming you no longer wanted anything to do with the project. You wired the money back and told your contact to, and I quote, _fuck off_."

"That's right."

"And why was that? You've never been one to shy away from money."

"Look, my contact was giving me the creeps. But it was in a shady way, not a _I'm gonna kill you_ kinda way. Normally, I don't ask questions, but then Sybil Mira attacked us and I nearly got shot in the face. So I thought, screw this, I'm not getting involved."

"This isn't the kind of organization you can just tell off."

Thorne gestured at his bloody, beat up body. "So I've discovered." He coughed. "The restaurant wasn't a fluke, was it? Even though you convinced the bodyguard? You were coming after us then, weren't you?"

"That was another organization. The team of bodyguards you set up was much more skilled than anyone anticipated. If you wouldn't have severed contact, you would've known that you were in danger that night. It isn't safe for Cress in San Diego anymore."

"Like she's safe here?"

"Better us than someone else. More than one organization wants the information Cress has. "

"She doesn't have any information. She hasn't been able to figure out the project. Frankly, it's been a boring month. Besides nearly dying three times, of course. Actually, make that four times, thanks to Aimery."

Cinder was quiet for a long time. Thorne took ragged breaths.

"Did you quit because you fell in love with Cress?"

"Please. I've been doing this a long time, Cinder. Though, if you're here, I'm sure you must know my history. I have a special set of skills that most guys could only dream of having when it comes to women — "

"Gag."

"—and I've saved up enough money to have a comfortable life. I wanted out. I already told the boys yesterday. Maybe they were too busy trying to kill me to actually listen."

Thorne was glad he could keep his eyes shut due to his obvious pain. His mind was trying to catch up with the fact that his former best friend from college was part of this shady organization. It didn't make any sense. Cinder had always been a good kid, straight-laced enough that she had even been against drinking in college. The one time he'd gotten her drunk had been the night she'd finally confessed her feelings for Kai. Thorne had always known about her massive crush, of course. He knew women. Had always been able to read them like a book.

Cinder let out a long breath. "I told them you weren't one to fall in love."

Thorne thought of Cress underneath him, her skin flushed as he moved his lips over her neck, her shoulder blades, her lower back. He remembered the little noises she'd made, letting him know that she was enjoying it as much as him.

"You still know me," he said. "Even if you don't want to admit it. Guys like me don't ever change."

"Then why the resistance? You killed some of Jericco's men. And why were you even with Cress last night? You could have been long gone more than a week ago, and yet you stayed in San Diego. With the girl. It's extremely suspicious."

She was right. He should have run. He could've been on his own private island in the Caribbean by now.

"Cinder, honey," he said, "anyone who shoots at me is not my friend. Someone who wants to have a conversation doesn't break into an apartment and kill a bodyguard in the process."

"You were found in the middle of, well, doing what you were famous for in college."

"I was just kissing a girl. Didn't know that was a capital offense around here." He patted the side of the cot. "Have a seat and I'll show you what was missing with Kai."

"Stop," she hissed.

"Ooh, still touchy about your ex-beau? There must be a story there, Cinder."

"Why did you stay in San Diego, Thorne?"

He sighed. "Well, besides the fact that I wasn't aware breaking a contract was enough to get me killed, it's like you said. I'm that kind of guy. I lost a lot of time and money woo'ing the little genius. She's cute. It can't be all work and no play."

"You disgust me as always."

"You're the one working for the crazies."

"You work for them too."

"Wrong. I contract my services for whoever wants to hire me. Looks like I should change that policy from now on and do a little more digging about my employers. Turns out you can get stabbed in the back by your best friend."

"Listen to me carefully, Thorne. Aimery and the guys came _this close_ to killing you last night. They didn't on my orders. Convince me that I didn't make the wrong choice."

This made Thorne open his eye and regard his long-lost friend. "Your orders? You run this place?"

"No. But I do pull rank from time to time. So talk to me Thorne. Do you have genuine feelings for this girl?"

Thorne rolled his eyes. The movement hurt the eye that was swollen shut. "You already asked me this. I couldn't get laid the entire time I was in San Diego because your organization wanted Cress to fall for me. So I figured, why not go out with a bang?" He winked at her – also painful. "See what I did there?"

Cinder rubbed her temple. That was when Thorne noticed her hand. He flinched, which made his body ache even more.

"Cinder…why do you have a metal hand? Please tell me that's a glove."

Cinder dropped her hand and hid it behind her back.

"Cinder…"

She refused to look at him.

"What the hell is happening around here? You're a traitor _and_ a genetically modified…whatever you are?"

"The correct term is cyborg. It's like an advanced prosthesis. And I'm not genetically modified. Though I do have some alterations to my eyesight as well." She crossed her arms as Thorne gaped at her. "One of the alterations is the addition of an internal lie detector. So I'm going to ask you, one more time, what your feelings are for Cress Darnel."

"You…have an internal lie detector?" he echoed, his eyes still fixed on her hand.

"Yes. It blinks orange when someone is lying. It's quite useful for interrogations."

"Then why have the guys beat me up for information, Cinder?"

She shrugged. "I'm not the only one who works here, and I'm not the only one who can pull rank from time to time. You pissed off a lot of people by going off grid like that. You're lucky that you're alive."

"I'm always lucky," he said, though he didn't feel lucky at all at the moment. And with Cinder's lie detector — that was, if she was telling the truth — he wouldn't be alive much longer anyway.

"Yes or no, Thorne. Were you compromised by your mark?"

" _'Compromised by your mark'._ Sounds like some spy shit right there."

"Answer. The. Question."

"No. I wasn't ' _compromised_.' I'm not interested in Cress."

"You didn't quit because you fell in love with her?"

"No."

"You quit because you didn't understand the gravity of the assignment?"

"I quit because I was worried about my safety."

Cinder stared at him, long and hard. He stared right back, waiting for the little orange light to pop up in her internal lie detector.

Finally, she backed off and opened the door. "He's not lying. He's an idiot, but a truthful one."

The guys who had beat him up yesterday came back in the room, along with Aimery.

"Next time, maybe don't pick Jacin as the contact," she snapped. "Everyone knows he has absolutely no interpersonal skills."

Jacin. Thorne recognized that name. He had been at his hotel last night. He'd almost shot Cress. Thorne had never known who he'd been talking to, only that he worked for his employer. Thorne had made a practice of calling him Lewis Brimm, since that was who was supposed to be his boss. His employers usually never gave the real name, anyway.

"Don't blame Jacin. He's excellent at what he does."

"Maybe at shooting, yeah," Cinder said. "But it looks like he did a terrible job of convincing Thorne that this would be worth it for him. Maybe if he had, we wouldn't be in the situation."

Aimery strode over to where Thorne was now sitting. He'd dragged himself up as a precaution when they come into the room. Aimery grabbed him by the shirt. "You're dead to me, do you understand? Nobody breaks deals with us."

"Easy, Aimery," said Cinder. "He's still useful to us. Cress is freaking out over there, and if your methods of persuasion don't work, it would be nice to have a backup plan."

Aimery snarled, "We won't need a backup plan."

Cinder rubbed her temple. "Aimery, making any woman feel like you're going to violate her is not helpful in any situation. Stay away from Cress."

Thorne tried to keep his face neutral. He had heard about Aimery. Jerrico had threatened him a few times since he'd returned the money. Unlike Jacin, he hadn't been unwilling to give out his name.

Nor Aimery's.

The idea of him with Cress made his blood boil.

"She doesn't feel that way," Aimery said, drawing Thorne to his feet by the shirt. "And there are other ways of making people do what you want, Cinder."

Thorne tried to look like he was shrugging. Like he didn't care.

"Thorne has one advantage," said another guy in the room. He was responsible for Thorne's swollen eye. "He spent every day with Cress since we sent him there. He knows her better than anyone. If she doesn't want to cooperate, he can figure out how to make her."

Everyone stared at Thorne.

"Sure," he said. "She opened up a lot. I know her weaknesses."

"It's settled, then." Cinder waved everyone forward. "The priority is Cress and code name Lunar Gift. We keep Thorne here to make sure she cooperates."

"And if I don't want to stay?" Thorne said.

Aimery punched him in the gut. Thorne doubled over, wheezing.

"You're staying, lover boy."

He kicked him for good measure, and Thorne fell onto all fours.

"Is that really necessary?" Cinder said. "Look at him."

"It looks like he could use another beating."

The other guys laughed.

"Why do I have to work with the biggest morons on the planet?" Cinder said to no one in particular. "Someone show him the shower and give him new clothes."

"Wait." Thorne held up his hand. "I think I need a few minutes—hours—to get up."

To his surprise, they didn't argue. With everyone laughing except Cinder, they left him on the floor.

Thorne curled into the fetal position and stayed there until he managed to pull himself back up onto the little cot.

* * *

He got a shower and a new pair of clothes that night—both granted by Cinder, not her male companions. When he was still putting on his shirt, Cinder burst into his room.

"Whoa, easy there, princess."

"I've seen you shirtless a thousand times, Thorne. It doesn't bother me anymore. Now, get up, we're going to see Cress."

"Um." He pulled his shirt over his bruised ribs. "Why?"

"She's been asking about you."

His spirits lifted for a second. "She has?"

"Keeps asking what's happened to you."

"Oh." That was hardly the same thing as wanting to see him. "I don't think I should—"

"You're going. The sooner Cress gets used to the idea of you being here, working with us, the better."

"Cinder, she's not going to—"

"Not my problem." She waved for him to follow and, reluctantly, he did.

"It actually is your problem because you put me up to this," he hissed, then clutched his side. "And stop walking so fast. I'm not a cyborg."

She bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I don't heal magically over a few hours."

"I don't heal magically."

"Sure you don't."

Cinder didn't say anything.

"Does Kai know you're a cyborg now?"

She stopped in her tracks. Thorne bumped into her and swore.

"Stop talking about Kai."

"Why? He regrets breaking up with you, I can tell."

Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Good. Maybe if he hadn't broken up with me, I wouldn't be what I am today."

Thorne drew back. "Wow. How long have you been holding that inside?"

"Walk, Thorne."

"Maybe I'd rather discuss Kai."

Cinder drew a gun and pointed it at his chest. "Just because I lied to Aimery about your feelings doesn't mean I won't shoot you if I have to," she hissed. "My only priority is making sure code name Lunar Gift stays in the right hands. Get in the way of that and—"

"I got it," Thorne said grumpily. "Sheesh. Sorr-yy for thinking a shred of the old Cinder might still be in there."

Cinder stashed her gun. Thorne considered how he might wrestle it off her, but in the condition he was in, there was no way it could end well for him. And now he'd have to factor in her cyborg reflexes. He didn't even know anything about cyborgs. A metal hand might not make her faster, but it could probably crush his bones.

They were in a narrow hallway that reeked of sewage. Thorne wrinkled his nose, but didn't say anything. The time for joking with Cinder had long passed, apparently.

His heart was in his throat anyway at the thought of seeing Cress.

Cinder stopped in front of a big door with padlocks all over it. As she undid each one, Thorne memorized which way she turned her keys, which ones got stuck and had to be jangled, and where the key disappeared into Cinder's pocket afterward.

And then she was pushing open the door.

"Cress, you have a visitor."

Cinder pulled on Thorne's arm.

"Ow. Watch it."

Then he saw her.

His stomach lurched. Cress was curled up in the corner of the cot, holding a book in her hand like they might attack her any second and she'd need to defend herself. She was still wearing the leggings from yesterday, and worse, his button-up shirt. Someone had put him in a t-shirt while he'd been unconscious, so the only consolation of seeing her in his clothes was that no one had tried anything while she'd been knocked out.

She wasn't sporting bruises like him, though – the only good thing he could come up with for this situation.

Her eyes darted around the room wildly. She looked everywhere except for at him.

It killed him.

"Cress," he said, barely able to force her name off his tongue. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"Get out of my room," she said to Cinder.

Cinder made to move.

"I meant him." Her eyes stayed on Cinder.

Cinder cleared her throat uncomfortably, while Thorne wanted to say " _see?"_ But all he could do was stare at Cress, and wish he could tell her all the things he'd wanted to tell her last night.

Instead, he said, "I'm so sorry, Cress."

"Get out of my room!"

She finally faced him, her wide, beautiful blue eyes angry and filling up quickly with water.

"Right," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He turned away. "Goodnight, then."

He left the room, calling over his shoulder, "Let the girl take a shower, Cinder, _geez_. I can't believe you haven't afforded your VIP guest the same comforts you've given me. What kind of host are you?"

He hurried down the hallway before he could lose face in front of either of them.

When he got back to his room, he slammed his fist into the wall. The knuckles ripped back open, but he was happy for the distraction.

He slid down to the ground, covering his face with hands.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Cress," he vowed. "I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( I feel bad that Aimery is always such a rapist pig, but that's how Marissa Meyer wrote him so...it's unfortunately in character).


	20. Chapter 20

There was something invigorating about realizing her entire life had been a lie since she'd met Carswell Thorne. It was horrifying too, of course, but there were stages to grief, and anger was certainly one of them. After two days of barely eating, sleeping, and wallowing in self-pity, Cress was hit with a new resolve.

These people needed her. If she didn't have some key to this program, they wouldn't need her. Thorne would never have been sent to spy on her and she wouldn't be here against her will. If they needed her, then she was smarter than them. Maybe not in every way, since they had certainly outsmarted her—and maybe even Thorne, depending on how he fit into the equation—but Cress was a coding prodigy.

Even the so-called "senior analyst" who sat next to her anytime they brought her into the main room and put her in front of a computer wasn't as smart as her. He was sitting there as a precaution, of course. So Cress couldn't destroy the program or their organization.

At least that's what they thought.

Cress had been in a statewide club during college for people like her. And while she had perfected her skills and competed in challenges with others, she had learned that it was never a good idea to anger a coder. It was far too easy to destroy someone's life and livelihood with the click of a few buttons. Cress had always thought herself above such things but times had certainly changed.

And as soon as she got even a moment alone with these advanced tablets Cinder called _portscreens,_ Cress was going to do three things:

1\. Call for help.

2\. Expose the organization.

3\. Ruin Carswell Thorne's life.

If only she could slowly torture him the way he had tortured her. Cress was skilled at games but not at mind games or lying, and she didn't have the secrecy he'd mastered anyway. But for someone like Thorne, she had realized, feelings weren't the worst things that could be toyed with. Cress would track down his real identity, social security number, address, family, friends, and certainly his bank accounts. She could ruin his life in a monetary way that mattered. She could probably even figure out how to get enough evidence against him to land him in jail.

Then—or maybe before that, whichever opportunity presented itself first—Cress was going to take down this entire organization and any network affiliated with it. She hadn't figured out how to do that yet, especially with the senior analyst hovering over her, but she would get there.

She reminded herself of her plan whenever Thorne's stupidly hot yet traitorous butt walked by her. His presence always gave her heart a fresh sting. _Stars,_ had he played her. Used her. Probably ridiculed her and her stupid crush behind her back.

Cress's fingers left the keyboard. Her hands curled into fists. Thorne stood only a few feet away now, watching her but never making eye contact. He hadn't made eye contact or tried to speak with her since she'd yelled at him in her cell. Though he could open his one eye a little more than the first night here, his bruises had only turned more purple and she was thankful to whoever was responsible for his less-than-perfect appearance.

He was always around. Almost as much as the senior analyst sitting next to her. He made friendly conversation with everyone and anyone as if he had known them for years. Cress wondered how long he'd been involved with this organization and how many other girls he'd conned. The only person who clearly didn't like Thorne was Aimery.

Whenever Aimery came by, Cress noted the way Thorne tensed up.

She tensed up too. Aimery was still creepy and always borderline rapey every time he approached her. Cinder was the only one who comforted her even in the slightest, but she couldn't be trusted either. It was like everyone in the organization had just been waiting for Cress to show up and had nothing else to do with their lives but watch her type on the computer.

And stars, did she type.

Cress felt like she was pulling all-nighters even though they allowed her sleep and minimal breaks. One of her fingers was bloody and her right wrist was getting repetitive strain issues.

"Something particular on your mind, Cress?"

Cress startled at Thorne's voice addressing her. Thorne had moved closer, standing only a foot behind her gigantic monitor now. It obscured his body from the neck down. His blue eyes bored into her as he tapped one of his fingers on his chin.

Her own eyes narrowed but she ignored him and returned to her keyboard. As if she would tell him what was on her mind. The entire room had fallen silent at his words. She heard him step closer until his whole body came into view in the corner of her eye. She continued typing, her strokes coming slower and more deliberate. The analyst blew his nose noisily.

There was no need to be fazed. This wasn't any different from before. Thorne he had watched her the last two days too. The only difference was that he was right next to her now. But she would not let him intimidate her.

One of his ankles crossed lazily over the other as he leaned against her monitor. "She's not working on the program."

She stopped typing and glared up at him. Gone was his intense concentration. Thorne wore an expression of complete indifference, like he was choosing which tie he might wear to a boring business function.

"Excuse me?" she said.

They were the first words she'd spoken to him since Cinder had brought him to her cell. A lump grew in her throat the more she looked at him.

He looked past her, at the analyst. "You're clearly not watching her at all." He turned away and called, "Jacin! Get over here. Cress is playing us."

Cress jumped to her feet, fists clenched at her side. Four guns cocked and pointed at her—one of them from the analyst sitting next to her. That one poked into the small of her back.

She held up her hands, her lip trembling. "He's lying. I've done everything you've asked me to."

Jacin jogged over. He was easily recognizable with his white blond hair and cold, slate eyes. He'd barely said anything but he had been one of her captors. Cress had ranked all of them mentally by how scary they were and how likely they were to kill her on the spot if Cinder left them alone too long. Jacin was probably #3 on that list because Jerrico had not made an appearance since he had led his men into Thorne's apartment.

She swallowed hard.

"What's going on here?" Jacin said.

"Thorne's interrupting my work," Cress said, unable to look at either of them.

"She's only pretending to work," Thorne said.

He was right, of course. Cress was purposely not making any progress. She hadn't expected _Thorne_ of all people to pick up on it though.

 _You are a genius,_ she reminded herself. _A prodigy_. _You can outsmart them_.

"Thorne may have figured out how to"—she bit down on her trembling lip—"break down some of my defenses, but he can barely use a tablet. I wouldn't bet your whole program on his ability to tell whether or not I'm doing work."

"Of course you wouldn't," said Thorne casually, taking a step in front of one of the guns. He shook his head at Cress. "My assessment of you doing your work or not has nothing to do with whatever you're typing in. I can't tell the difference between HTML and C++—"

"Neither of which I'm using!"

He laughed and it was so condescending that Cress wanted to punch him in the gut. "Clearly."

"Get to the point, Thorne," Jacin said.

"You sent me to Satellite Technologies to get to know Cress. We've spent a lot of time together and I know how Cress looks when she's really working. She gets this trance expression on her face, like she's forgotten everything in the world around her except her work. Cress hasn't had that look one time since she's been here."

"You're—you're going by a _look_?" Cress spluttered. "Have you considered that I'm terrified for my life? It's not possible for me to get in a _trance_ when someone is constantly pointing a gun at me! And why don't you try working twelve hour days under pressure?"

He tutted. "First time I met you, darlin', I tested out your ability to leave your work behind. I believe you stayed in the office until 3 AM? Rather than come clubbing with me and the rest of your colleagues? You live for long hours and working under pressure."

She thought she might burst into tears but she had to keep her composure. "Not when I think someone is going to kill me if I mess up."

"Ease up on the guns, boys," Jacin said.

"Are you in charge here?" Cress asked, trying to reclaim the conversation.

Jason merely shrugged.

"I want to speak to whoever is in charge!"

"You can talk to me, honey," Aimery said, slithering in between Jacin and Thorne. He had his own gun drawn but he kept it at his side.

"I want to speak with Cinder," she said through clenched teeth.

Aimery looked around with a grin. "I believe she is on her break. Tell me, what can I do for you?"

"I want Thorne gone. He distracts me."

Thorne snorted.

Aimery put his arm around Thorne, who flinched. Then, to her horror, Aimery draped his other arm around Cress until the three of them were in a little huddle. She tried to squirm away but his gun was practically on her neck.

"Now," he said, "you two aren't going to be a problem for me, are you? Cuz I was under the impression we were all getting along so well."

Her cheek was pressed against Aimery's armpit and Thorne's chin was nearly touching her forehead. All she could do was stare at Thorne's chest. He wore a soft, gray T-shirt that she had never seen before. He had a bruise going up his neck.

"I want…Thorne… _gone_!" she squeaked out.

"If I'm gone you have no idea if she's playing you or not," Thorne said, "and I'm telling you, she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing."

Aimery's grip around her neck tightened.

"He's lying!" Cress said desperately.

"I'm not."

"Cut it out, Aimery," said Jacin. "Let's break it up so we can all see and hear what's happening."

In one movement, Aimery had pushed Thorne away and maneuvered Cress in front of him, pulling her back against his chest. He kept her in a headlock with one arm, so tightly she could barely breathe. "There," he said cheerily. "Now everyone can see and hear." He pointed the gun at Thorne. "I think your girl has been pretty cooperative. You're the one who tried to play us. You're the reason we had to bring this entire business here. Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now for trying to mess with our heads again."

Cress's hands came over Aimery's arm, trying to get him to loosen his grip so she could breathe more easily. She was trying to digest Aimery's words at the same time. She had replayed the night in Thorne's apartment a thousand times since she'd arrived here. It was clear that Thorne had done something to disobey Jerrico. Aimery's words confirmed that. But whatever Thorne had done had not been to benefit Cress. If it were, he would've warned her about this. And he wouldn't be trying to out her right now.

"I admit that I didn't make the smartest choices in our past business transactions," Thorne said slowly. "But Cinder has vouched for me and my intentions. Where is she, by the way? I'm sure she could settle this right away." He crossed his arms. "Get her. Cress is the one lying this time."

Cress dug her nails into Aimery's arm. He grunted and shoved her into her chair, his gun now pointing at her. "Bitch!"

Cress gasped for air and rubbed her neck. "Don't touch me."

"Get Cinder," he commanded.

"Finally," Thorne said.

"I'd like some water," Cress said.

"You're not getting anything until we verify that you're doing the work you're supposed to be doing," Aimery said.

 _Dammit Thorne_ , Cress thought. She wasn't sure how Cinder would be able to tell who was lying in this situation but Thorne's certainty made a pit grow in her stomach. Knowing that it wouldn't make a difference whether she sat up or not, Cress slumped over her keyboard and laid her head on her desk. She'd been trying to encrypt tiny transmissions into the program for when she did get it running. It shouldn't have been noticeable to anyone, let alone Thorne.

Cress closed her eyes and imagined herself back on the beach in San Diego. She had read in a magazine recently that guided imagery could calm you down. But every image she could conjure up ended with her drowning Carswell Thorne in the Pacific.

"What's going on? Did you hurt her?"

Cress forced herself into a sitting position. Light from the enormous warehouse-like room they were in flooded her tired eyes. Cinder passed desk after desk, computer after computer. Nobody seemed fazed that a cyborg was running past them. In fact, no one in this organization was fazed by a cyborg at all.

Only Cress stared and stared and tried to figure out what era she had been time-warped into when they had drugged her. Sometimes it was the only plausible answer to all the questions she had running through her mind. Despite her efforts, she still didn't understand who was in charge or what exactly they wanted. Since she had spent no time trying to actually figure out the program, she still didn't know what it did.

"The precious doll remains unharmed," Aimery drawled. His smile was so startling it almost hurt to look at him, but Cress didn't want to look at him anyway.

She fixed her attention on Cinder. "I want Thorne out of here. He's distracting. All I can think about is how he hurt me."

She refused to look at Thorne, but noticed how he shifted on his feet at her words.

"Cress is just trying to distract you," he said. "I picked up on the fact that she's not doing the work you assigned her."

"More like the work you're forcing me to do under life or death consequences! You think that's not incentive enough to do what you want? I don't have a death wish, Thorne!"

"No, Cress, I don't think you do." He sighed heavily. "But you're not weak, even if you want us to think you are. You could probably take down our firewall in five seconds flat if you got the opportunity."

"I'm not—"

"Cinder, you kept me around because you believed I could be useful because I've gotten to know Cress. So, let me be useful. Ask Cress if she's doing everything she can to solve this program."

"I—"

"Ask her, Cinder."

Cinder regarded Cress solemnly. "Are you working on the program, Cress?"

"Of course," she said quickly. That was wasn't even a lie. She just wasn't working on it the way that they wanted. And how would Cinder even know either way?

"She's not lying," Cinder said.

"Let me ask the questions," Thorne said. "You just do your cyborg thing."

Cress's confidence faltered. Cyborg thing?

"You don't even have to look me in the eyes, Cress," Thorne said. "Cinder will know if you're lying."

"Screw you, Thorne."

He sighed. "If only. Now, are you doing everything you can to solve this program?"

She glared. "Of course."

Everyone turned to look at Cinder.

"Thorne's right," Cinder said, her eyes growing hard. "Cress is lying."

"I am not!"

"Cress," Thorne said, "are you trying to sabotage our work?"

Cress pressed her lips together.

Thorne came closer. Cress backed up in her chair until she couldn't go back anymore. Placing an arm on the desk behind her, he leaned so close to her that they could have kissed. Her heart rate increased and she wanted to get away but she spit in his face instead.

Thorne didn't flinch. He stared at her for a moment before he worked his jaw and slowly wiped his face with his palm. "Are you trying to sabotage our work?" he said, no longer looking at her.

"No."

"Liar," Thorne whispered.

"She's lying," Cinder echoed.

Thorne backed away and Aimery took his place, yanking Cress to her feet. He grabbed her by her hair this time, keeping her neck painfully arched back.

"There's no need for that," Thorne said. "Obviously if you kill her she's not going to complete your program either."

Aimery growled. "She just needs the right motivation. Clearly Cinder's niceties aren't working. I think Cress and I should spend some time alone to reanalyze her loyalties."

"No!" Cress tried to wriggle away. "I'll do what you want!"

"She's still lying," Cinder said.

Jacin swore. The analyst's gun pressed against Cress again.

Aimery yanked so hard Cress thought she would lose her hair. "Why, you little—"

"Can I remind everyone that you kept me because I know Cress?" Thorne said pleasantly. "So if you could all just calm the fuck down, I'll tell you an easy way to solve this."

Cinder rubbed her temple. "We're listening."

"Aimery, could you loosen your grip a little?" Thorne clicked his tongue. "We do want our prodigy to keep her brain cells intact."

They exchanged words but some of the burning in her scalp ceased.

Thorne shook his head. "You guys are all so primitive. Look at me. I work with relationships. Connections. We analyzed Cress and saw that she was someone who lacked connection. Someone who needed more of it in her life."

Cress's lower lip began to tremble again.

"But I learned that Cress does have a few people she cares about. One person in particular. I think he might be useful in the situation."

 _He?_ Cress's heart plunged to the floor. _Useful in this situation?_

"His name is Julian. He works at Satellite Technologies."

"No!" Cress cried.

Thorne snapped his fingers. "Now _that_ is real fear. Not that she's not afraid of Aimery either, but then again, who isn't afraid of Aimery? Bringing Julian here will be the motivation that Cress needs to complete this project, however."

"No! Please! Leave him alone!"

"Will you complete the project if we promise not to harm him?" Cinder asked.

"Yes!" Cress said desperately. "I was lying before, I admit it, but I'm not anymore. I'll do whatever you say. Just leave him alone, please."

"Truth," Thorne said.

Cinder nodded.

Aimery twisted Cress's hair until she was forced to face him. His eyes gleamed. "Cinder is going to be here every hour on the hour asking you precisely what you did to get this program working. If she even gets a hint of a lie from your silver tongue, I will personally go and find this Julian. Got it?"

Her legs shook. "G-Got it. Yes."

He pushed her away. She stumbled and crashed into Thorne, who tried to catch her but she flailed her arms, preferring the cold concrete floor to the emptiness of his touch.

"You better get to work, Cress," Thorne said quietly.


	21. Chapter 21

_"Hello, my name is Iko! What's your name?"_

Cress stared blankly at the digital face that had appeared on her monitor. She shook her head, thinking for a second that she was hallucinating after spending so much time in front of her screen.

 _"Hello, my name is Iko!"_ the face repeated. " _What's your name?"_

"She did it!" the analyst screamed, making Cress jump a mile and nearly spill her coffee all over herself. "She got through! We've got Iko!"

'Iko' continued asking for Cress's name on repeat as those around the warehouse passed on the message. Aimery, Thorne, Cinder, and a few other of her captors all gathered around. Jacin, the only other guy whose name she knew—she didn't even know the analyst's name, after six days of being held against her will—wasn't around today.

_"Hello, my name is Iko! What's your name?"_

"Hello, Iko," Cinder said. "I'm Cinder."

_"Hello, Cinder! We can be best friends. I like shopping, shoes, and palm trees. What do you like?"_

Cinder's brow furrowed. "Is there a way to get her to stop talking?"

"We want her to talk," Aimery said. "This is what we've been waiting for."

_"I like shopping, shoes—"_

"Cress, can you mute her?"

Cress pressed the button on the monitor, barely restraining her eye roll. A cyborg couldn't mute a computer? Iko's 3D robot face kept jabbering, unaware that her human companions weren't listening.

"Where's the body?" Aimery said.

"Body? What body?" Thorne said.

"The body," Aimery said. "Cinder, go get it."

"You go get it."

"Thorne can get it."

"What body?" Thorne demanded, sounding as creeped out as Cress felt.

"Go with him, Aimery," said Cinder. "It's heavy anyway."

"Fine. But you're not touching Iko until I get back."

'Iko' had to be why the program seemed to have an interactive feature back at Satellite Technologies. This was what her captors had wanted her to figure out. She had broken through the program like they had wanted. Would they kill her now that her task was complete? Was there even any possibility of them letting her go now? Cress folded her hands in her lap and told herself not to be nervous.

With all her thoughts on keeping Julian out of this, Cress hadn't been able to implement any of her plans the way she'd wanted. She was too afraid of Cinder figuring her out with whatever cyborg lie detector she clearly had. She was going on 100% accuracy for whether Cress was telling the truth or not.

Thorne was usually pretty accurate too.

He hadn't stopped being a terrible jerk to her since he'd first outed her about the program. He had begun addressing her much like Aimery did, like she was just a means to an end.

That's all she'd ever been to him.

A means to an end.

Sometimes, when no one else was around, and the analyst was busy checking her work, Thorne would wink at her or smile, and Cress wanted to throw her monitor at him. How dare he treat her this way and then think he could goad her with his good looks?

He was as pale as a ghost now, as he left the main part of the warehouse with Aimery.

"Good job, Cress."

Cress didn't bother looking at Cinder. Her words of congratulations went right through her. Normally, when she finished a project and solved whatever program had been blocking everyone before, Cress would do a little dance in her office. Just a tiny, two-second dance, because it was important to acknowledge her accomplishments.

She had no dance left in her.

She didn't want them to have 'Iko' — whatever her purpose was.

"For the record," Thorne said, his voice echoing from farther down the warehouse, "this is disturbing on so many levels. I didn't sign up for this."

"Stop complaining. You signed with us, so you signed up for all of it."

"Again, something that should have been mentioned during the contract negotiation phase of our agreement."

"Shut up, Thorne."

"Look, I'm all about making money. We're on the same side about that, buddy. But dead bodies? I mean, I'm carrying a casket. Isn't there some sort of clause for people that are naturally squeamish? I mean they have phobias for dealing with dead people, right? I'm pretty sure I have that. Necrophobia? Necrophilia? Something like that."

Cress didn't bother telling him that _necrophilia_ was not at all the word he was looking for.

"Shut up and pull your weight."

"Shouldn't we be celebrating right now? Cress just cracked a code that's been evading us for more than two years. Let's not be grumpy."

"Thorne, I swear —"

"Thorne's right," Cinder said, speaking over the men. They schlepped a musty wooden casket over to where everyone had gathered around Cress. "Cress did it. This is why we hired Thorne, why we took Cress in the end, and why any of us even bothered to get involved in the first place. Let's be nice to each other for five minutes while we appreciate what's just happened."

"See?" Thorne said. "We should be breaking out the bubbly."

"Iko isn't working yet, Cinder," Aimery huffed, dropping the casket unceremoniously on the ground.

Cress tried not to look at it. She couldn't imagine why they wanted a dead body, and what it had to do with the computer program. Just as quickly, her mind skimmed through about thirty different movies and shows she had seen where people had tried to transport important computer programming in dead bodies. Maybe there was a missing chip inside this one.

"All right," Cinder said calmly, "let's get her out." She pulled off her work gloves and some sort of tool protruded out of one of her fingers. She knelt down next to the casket.

"Oh, aces. No. No, no, no." Thorne swayed a bit on his feet. "I'm going to throw up."

"It's not a dead body!" Cinder huffed. "So you can quit being a baby."

Some of the paleness in his face vanished, though his eyes remained cautious as he peered at Cinder prying open the casket. He jumped as soon as it was open. "It is a dead body!"

"Just a body," Cinder said. "It's not dead."

Aimery said, "It's never been alive."

Curiosity got the best of her. Cress had been trying to sit there, only half-listening to what they were saying, but that wasn't really going as well as she had planned. She moved to the edge of her seat and peered down as well, trying to see between the legs of those standing around her.

She saw what looked like a real body: rich, brown skin…thick, blue braids…legs for days…an impeccable fashion sense.

Her mind whirred.

An A.I.

It had to be.

"She looks real," Thorne commented, crossing his arms.

"It's a robot," Aimery said.

"Well, she is gorgeous, I'll give you that," Thorne said. "The blue braids are a bit much but she looks fantastic."

He went on to compliment the rest of the robot's features, detailing how her curves matched a woman's body almost precisely and how she didn't even look fake.

Cress tried to hide her bitterness. Of course he would think a robot was attractive. This had been the type of girl that Cress had originally thought Thorne would be attracted to. The kind of girl that he had danced with at the Electric Mirage on his first night working at Satellite Technologies.

 _Stars_. She wasn't seriously jealous of a robot, was she?

Thorne had betrayed her in so many ways and she was probably going to die in a few minutes, and all she could think about was being jealous of a robot?

She hardened her heart and turned back to her screen, where Iko was still opening and closing her mouth into oblivion. Everyone around her was chattering excitedly, poking the robot, and listening as Cinder talked about specific parts that looked like they needed to be tightened or readjusted.

Finally, Cinder addressed her. "Cress, we need you to remove the programming from the computer and get it working inside Iko's new body. Then there will be a little trial and error until we can tweak it to work."

So, they still needed her. She wasn't dying in the next couple hours. Still, her unenthusiasm was hard to hold back. "Tweak it? Or her?"

"They're one and the same," Aimery said.

"What's her purpose?" Cress asked.

"That's none of your business," he snapped.

"Oh, come on," Thorne said, looking like he wanted to nudge Aimery jokingly. "Like Cinder said, it's taken you guys two years to get to this point. Cut the girl a little slack, just for today. I know it took a while for her to cooperate but she's the only one who managed to get through the program. Even she deserves a little bubbly."

Cress didn't look at him. "I need a purpose if I'm going to make the programming work," she said coldly. "Unless one of you wants to give me the codes and I'll just plug them in?"

"For now," Cinder said, "you and I will just work together to get the program installed inside the body. Shouldn't take us too long. We can tweak everything tomorrow." To Aimery, she said, "You guys can take a break. This is my area of expertise too."

"You mean we don't have to stand around here and watch you guys creepily open up a robot brain?" Thorne raised his eyebrow. "And we get a break? You guys are actually gonna take one of my suggestions? What is this sorcery?"

Cinder gave him a look.

"We should play Royals," Thorne said.

Aimery actually perked up. "First idea you've had that hasn't been a terrible waste of time."

Another guy who stood behind Cinder said, "I'm in."

"Me too," said another.

Thorne's eyes lit up. "Cinder?"

"Like I said, I'll be here with Cress. But I wouldn't mind if someone went out for beer."

"That we can do."

"Not you," Aimery said. "You don't get to leave until this done."

Some of Thorne's eagerness fell away. "Sure. Why don't you guys take care of that and I'll set us up for Royals. I've always got a deck with me."

"You had a deck of cards with you on the night you were gonna hook up with Cress?"

He visibly winced.

Cress did too.

"We brought you here in literally just a pair of slacks."

Thorne reached into his pocket, revealing a deck of cards. "Okay, so maybe I swiped a pack of cards from one of the aids a few days ago. A guy's gotta keep himself entertained some way."

Cinder shook her head. "Once a thief, always a thief."

This made Cress's eyes jerk sharply back to Thorne. He was turning the cards over in his one hand like a cheap parlor trick. Thief? What did Cinder mean by that?

Why hadn't she dug up everything on him when she'd had the chance? Why had she tried to be good? Respectful? Worthy of love?

"Let's not dredge up the past, Cinder," Thorne said, still cheery, but Cress thought less so than before. "You should work on Iko, then. Come on, boys." He trudged away, with everyone shuffling out after him—even Aimery—leaving Cress alone with Cinder.

* * *

Iko could blink, move her arms, walk a few feet, and talk.

 _Stars_ , could she talk.

Whoever had programmed her had truly had an obsession with fashion. All Iko wanted to talk about was shopping and hair and shoes and style. They'd had to mute her again.

Working with Cinder wasn't terrible. Having company after so many days sitting in silence with the analyst made it almost feel like a collaborative project. It was less lonely, though Cress found herself second-guessing herself constantly at Cinder's scrutiny. She was extremely intelligent in her own way, from everything mechanical to wiring and the more hardware areas compared to Cress's software knowledge.

Maybe in another universe, they would have made a great team.

"There," Cinder said, pressing a button on Iko's back that made her power down. "Let's leave her charging all night, and then tomorrow I can detail a little better what we need for you to do. Unless you want to start programming right now?"

Cress looked at her chaffed hands. "I'd prefer a break, please."

Cinder sighed. "Look…I'm sorry that everyone around here is an asshole. I hope you know that if it wasn't absolutely necessary, we wouldn't have taken you. If Thorne could have just stayed focused…" She trailed off, a distant look coming into her eyes. "I'm sure none of that matters to you. You're here against your will. But believe me, we're not the worst group to take you."

She smiled hopefully at Cress.

Cress, tired of being polite, muttered, "I'm sure."

"Really, Cress. There are a lot of people that want to get their hands on Iko. There are more things at work here than you realize. People would kill to have her."

"Why? She's just an A.I. There are others in the world, I'm sure. It's not that strange of a concept."

Cinder pulled her gloves slowly back over her hands. "I can't tell you, unfortunately. But the person who designed Iko made her for a very specific purpose. A few people figured out that purpose, and since then everyone wants to get their hands on her. We need to be first."

Cress didn't say anything. She wouldn't trust Aimery with anything—not even something good. He would ruin it. Whatever Cinder's intentions were, they had been tainted when she'd teamed up with him.

"I'd like to be alone," Cress said. "Is it fine if I go back to my cell?"

Cinder grimaced. "I had hoped you wouldn't think of it as a cell. Temporary residence, really."

"Until you kill me, temporary?" Her face flushed as soon as she said the words. Her lips trembled.

Cinder looked intently at her gloves. "I hope it doesn't come to that. If you just cooperate—like you have been the past few days—and don't do anything reckless, I think I can get you out of here."

"But you have no guarantees."

"Try not to think about that. I can guarantee that if you mess around, yes, we will need to eliminate you. But I'd like for it not to come to that. Let's get Iko to fulfill her purpose and then we'll figure out how to get you home safely. Come on, I'll take you back to your room."

Cinder locked up the casket with that tool that came out of her hand and got to her feet. She whistled for another member of her team to watch the casket while she accompanied Cress. They walked out of the warehouse-like room, passing the various cubicles, but they were all abandoned. Down the hallway, music blared. Cigar smoke plugged up the air, making Cress want to gag. The men were really playing cards, then.

"I might be able to sneak you a beer," Cinder said as they approached the hallway where Cress's cell was.

"I don't want one," she said quickly. She needed to keep her wits about her. She had received a book to read in her cell, and curling up with it alone seemed like the best way to forget her horrible situation. In books, the world was the way it was supposed to be. Prisoners were rescued by daring heroes, not duped by the love interest.

Cinder didn't say anything, looking uncomfortable at how quickly Cress had dismissed her offer. The silence was fine with Cress. She wanted to get to her room already and rest. She picked up the pace.

"Hey, ladies." Thorne leaned against Cress's door, one leg crossed over the other. He smiled drunkenly at the two of them, his eyes a bit starry. "Fancy seeing you here."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I was…" His eyes trailed over the two of them. "Looking for company? You two are better to look at than those morons."

Cinder's lip curled. "Ew."

"I'm captain of this ship tonight," he slurred, reaching into his pocket and revealing a thick stack of cash. "Boys can shoot but not gamble."

" _Stars_ , how drunk are you?" Cinder said.

"You tell me, cyborg."

"Get out of the way."

Thorne moved to the side, but only a bit, looking at Cinder like he appreciated every move she made. Cress's stomach grew sour. First the robot, now Cinder? Thorne was totally shameless.

Cinder jangled with all the locks on Cress's door while Cress stood there, unbelievably uncomfortable. Part of her wanted to punch Thorne and the other part wanted to smack him in the face. Both would be acceptable.

Long gone were his "I'm sorry!" tears the night they had been captured. He had sold her out for money and now he looked like he wanted to _buy_ Cinder for the night.

He was disgusting.

"Cinder…" Thorne said, one hand coming to rest on her shoulder. She snapped up, looking like she would strike him.

"Don't touch me."

His hands went in the air. "Sorry. Just saying hi."

"This"—she gestured between them—"is never happening, do you hear me? Not now, not ever."

He rolled his eyes. "Not what you said in college."

She bristled. "Excuse me?"

"You wanted me." He leaned close. "Kai told me."

She pushed him back. "I _never_ said that."

"He did."

"Bring up Kai again and watch what happens." She gestured for Cress to come close. "Now, let's check out your room and make sure everything's in order before we let you retire for the night, Cress."

Cress stood in the doorway, trying to put as much space between Thorne and her. This routine was something Cinder did every night, like she expected Cress to somehow have gotten hold of a key or knife or _anything_. When was she supposed to do that? She wasn't even allowed to go to the bathroom unaccompanied.

Thorne inched closer. "Hey there."

Cress kept her eyes pinned on Cinder, who was inspecting Cress's sheets.

"You look really hot tonight."

"Get away from me, Thorne."

Cinder looked up from Cress's bed. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Cress's eyes flew to Thorne. He was leaning down, looking like he might nuzzle his face in her neck. She flinched back.

"Leave her alone," Cinder growled.

Thorne smiled with so much desire in his eyes that Cress nearly lost her breath. "Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I just want…five minutes…with my girl. Five minutes."

"You're disgusting," Cinder said, leaving the bed.

But Thorne didn't leave Cress alone. He moved closer to her, so Cress was forced almost against the wall. Her thoughts went on overdrive; she wanted to hit him, push him away, kiss him, stare at him, run away. It was too much and instead all she could do was stand there, frozen, as he leaned closer to her, looking like he might fall into her, his lips coming to her ear.

"Under the bed."

She barely heard the words, but he had said them—whispered them—in her ear, his lips brushing against her skin. Was he propositioning her? After everything?

Cinder yanked him away and punched him in the stomach.

Thorne grunted.

"What is your problem, Thorne?" Cinder hissed. "I already covered for you enough. I won't have your back again."

"Just being friendly," Thorne mumbled, rubbing his stomach.

"Don't you dare touch Cress against her will."

"Sorry," he muttered, "just wanted five minutes."

"We heard you," Cinder snapped, her eyes blazing. "Get out of here!"

He stumbled away without another look.

"Sorry about that," Cinder said, her eyes steely. "Sometimes I hate men."

She gently pushed Cress into her cell and shut the door behind her. The locks turned like they always did—five of them, in a row.

Cress sat on her bed, her whole body shaking. Why had she let him get so close to her? Why did she have to be so utterly useless in situations that made her panic? Why couldn't she fend for herself against a disgusting, drunk guy who just wanted to humiliate her? Who had _already_ humiliated her?

She crawled into her covers, a tear escaping down her cheek. She hadn't cried in two days and hated that she wasn't strong enough to keep it up.

It didn't take long before she thought she heard the clinking of her locks. Cress tensed up. No one ever visited her after she went asleep, and the idea of more drunk men in this complex drove fear right through her. She grabbed her book—that could be used as a weapon.

Maybe.

She stood on her bed as the door opened.

Thorne burst in.

Cress threw the book at him.

She missed.

"What are you doing?" he hissed. "Where's the portscreen?"

He didn't sound drunk at all.

"W-What?"

Thorne ran to the bed. Cress thought of launching herself at him, but that probably would go worse than the book. He dove under the bed. He rummaged around and re-emerged, a portscreen in his hand. "You haven't started!" He swore. "This messes up my plan. Come on!"

Cress remained frozen standing on the bed.

His eyes were wide. "Cress, we have to go." He thrust the portscreen at her. "Do your thing."

Cress stared at it dumbly. "Do what thing?" She mustered up some courage. "I'm not going anywhere with you! You…you pig!"

He took a step back, looking at her like he didn't know who she was. He slapped his forehead. "My clues! Cress, I've just been pretending."

"Yeah, I figured that out, thank you very much," she said icily. "Pretending to like me. Pretending to be my friend. Pretending you worked at Satellite Technologies."

"No! Aces. I mean, yes, sort of, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm sorry but we don't have time to get into that right now. I've been pretending to be a jerk the last few days to get the guys to trust me. I wasn't trying to hit on you earlier. I told you, _five minutes_. It was a clue! I came back in five, didn't I? And I hid the portscreen under the bed for you. I was trying to tell you about it while keeping Cinder from finding it. Aces, do you really think I'm a creep like Aimery? Cress, I'm getting you out of here. I have a plan. But you have to move. Now."

She hesitated, trying to absorb his words. "It's a trap."

"It's not. Please, Cress."

When Cress didn't move, he reached behind him and pulled out a gun. Cress jumped back instinctively, but he thrust it into her hands. "I know you don't trust me. But trust me that if I was going to hurt you, I wouldn't be giving you my gun. Well, it's not my gun but—that's not the point. Do you want to get out of here or not? We have one minute before Cinder comes back down this hall. She's getting a beer and the rest of the guys are drunk." He checked his watch. "One minute, Cress, and my entire plan goes up in smoke. You might not get another chance."

Cress looked between the gun in her hands, the portscreen she was balancing precariously against it, and Thorne's hands held up in the air, his eyes pleading with her.

"Fine," she said. She did have a gun and a portscreen now. Two items she had dreamed about having in her cell. "Get me out of here."

Thorne ran out of the room. Cress followed him, full on sprinting to keep up with him. He took her down two hallways that smelled like sewage and had lights that shook at the same rhythm with which they ran. Cress held the gun at her side, afraid to bring it too close her body. She had never held a gun and she could set it off at any moment.

Or shoot Thorne in the back.

A few minutes ago that had been more than appealing but now she had no idea what to think. She didn't have time to think about it, because Thorne took a sharp turn to the right and pushed her behind a stack of boxes, flattening her against the wall. They slid to the ground on and got on their knees behind the boxes. He breathed heavily around her, looking as alert and ready to go as he had when they had escaped the Italian restaurant together with Ze'ev.

"What are you waiting for?" he hissed.

"What?" she whispered.

"Get through the firewall!"

"W-What?"

"I told you! You could break through the firewall in five seconds, remember? I was telling you about the firewall!"

Cress's thoughts went all over the place, to when Thorne had ratted out her lies in front of everyone. Eyes narrowing, she opened the portscreen. "You didn't do anything except humiliate me."

His eyes softened, but only a little. He pulled the gun from her and did something that made something else click in place. "That's better," he said, putting the gun back down next her.

Cress's fingers flew over the keypad as she dove into their security system. He was right—it only took her a few seconds to break through.

"I was trying to help," Thorne whispered. "I know it came out harsh, but I had to get them to trust me."

Cress gritted her teeth as she hacked further into their system, pulling up a grid that had a map of the complex. They were somewhere underground. She pinged their location and found they were three tunnels down from the outdoors. There was only one way out that didn't include the elevator.

"Got it," Cress said. "Their security system will sound if anyone leaves or enters. I can disable it."

"Of course you can," Thorne said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Find Cress!" they heard someone shout down the hallway. "She's escaping!"

"Shit, shit, shit." Thorne held his gun up. "You don't mind if I borrow this for a while, do you?"

"I don't know how to use it."

Thorne took her hand and placed it on the gun. All Cress could concentrate on was his warm skin against hers, and how familiar and painful it was. "Release this. Pull the trigger. Bam. Got it?" He repeated the movement. "Now you know how to use it. How do we get out of here?"

"This way," she said, jerking her thumb to the left.

From the direction they had come.

"Not optimal," Thorne said. "We have to draw them away from the warehouse then."

Cress nodded. "I could set off an alarm somewhere north." She pulled up two of the security panels. "Make them think we're escaping over there."

"Great idea. I'll try to think of how we'll get by the guards who will inevitably be standing watch."

"I thought you had a plan."

"The plan included your brains, darlin'."

She bristled. " _Don't_ call me that."

"Sorry, Cress. Really, I am. For everything—"

"Stop."

He shut up, then positioned himself in front of Cress so she was more obscured by the boxes. She set off the alarm, and sure enough, bright lights flashed everywhere, and a horrible screeching light alerted everyone to the breech.

Boots thundered down the hallway. Cress made herself as small as possible, but no one saw them. When no more noises came, Thorne said, "Okay, let's go. Did you unlock the doors? To leave this complex?"

"Only one of them. There's only one way out."

He nodded, eyes determined. "Let's do this."

He grabbed her hand and even though her initial reaction was to pull away, there wasn't time for any thoughts about the two of them now. Betrayal or not, this was her only chance to escape. That was all she had to focus on now. She would sort through her thoughts later.

She gripped his hand back and together, they dashed back into the hallway.


	22. Chapter 22

They half-ran, half-tiptoed depending on the noise they made in the hallway. When things got too quiet, they picked up the pace until their feet echoed again. Whenever they wound around the corner, Thorne would stop so abruptly that Cress would almost smack into him. Once, he turned and caught her in his arms, clamping his hand around her mouth like he had in San Diego to keep her quiet.

When Cress flinched at his touch, he ripped away like he had burned her by accident.

Neither of them looked at each other as someone else's voice came down the hallway.

Thorne sprinted back a few steps. "Up here," he whispered.

He was already climbing up a built-in pipe ladder that led to a shaft overhead.

"That's not in the blueprints."

"It exists, though," he said. "Get up here. Now!"

"The exit is the other way," she hissed.

"Someone is blocking our exit and I'd rather not shoot anyone yet."

He disappeared into the chute. It rattled with the pressure of his weight.

The voice got closer. She could hear more than one set of footsteps too. Without another thought, she pocketed her portscreen and leaped at one rusty rung. She was so short that she barely caught it. The sensation on her fingertips made her shudder as she pulled her legs up behind her. She didn't like that she couldn't see where this would lead her. The whole point of downloading the blueprints and finding a way out was to go that way. These tunnels were dank with the smell of sewage already and she worried that these chutes might lead them to the source.

Thorne's head popped out from above her. "Hurry!"

He reached out his hand. She grabbed it and he hoisted her toward him.

Pain bit into her stomach and she gasped, losing her grip on the ladder. She slammed into it, the pain in her stomach doubling as she hit the same sharp thing right at the hem of her pants. Thorne's face twisted with concentration and effort as she dangled from his arm.

"Put your feet down," he said. "Just put your feet down."

Cress grappled for one of the rungs with her free hand and kicked out a leg to find purchase. She managed to dig her heel onto the rusty ladder.

"I've got you," Thorne said. "Let me pull you up."

Cress reached down, trying to see better in the dark. "I'm stuck. There's a nail or something — it's caught in Cinder's pants and it's pierced my skin."

"They must have gone this way," said a voice that sent chills through Cress's entire body. Thorne's face filled with alarm. He recognized that voice too.

"We have to move, Cress."

"I can't," she said.

"You can. If you can't pull out the nail, you have to pull yourself out."

Hot tears pooled in her eyes as she did just that. She bit down a scream.

But then it was over.

A piece of Cinder's baggy cargo pants came free too, sticking on the nail. Hot, thick blood pooled onto her hand. She wiped it on her clothes and reached for Thorne. "Pull me up."

"I cannot believe you let this happen!" said the voice.

"We think the consultant helped her," said someone else.

"Of course he did. And Iko isn't even ready yet, you imbecil. She could have been useful right now if you had done your job."

They were so close.

Thorne grunted as he heaved her up, sweat dripping off his forehead. The baggy pants Cinder had given her nearly came off with the effort, but she managed to make it in one piece. Thorne dragged her next to him with a plunk right before their pursuers rounded the corner.

Cress pressed her hand against her wound, trying to steady her breathing. It didn't seem as bad as it felt.

She couldn't see anything in here except the vague change in the dimness coming from the opening of the chute. She was sure she had heard her, though. All the time she had spent in Cress's office asking about Thorne had cemented Luisa's nasally voice in her mind.

What was she doing here? Had she been placed at Satellite Technologies with Thorne? Had her interest in Thorne been staged too? Had it all been part of his plan to make her fall for him?

The click-clack of heels paused below them. "Has someone checked the sewer system?"

"No, ma'am."

"Do _not_ call me ma'am."

"Excuse me."

"Well, what are you waiting for? _I'm_ not going up there."

"Up there?"

"Get up that ladder and go looking for them."

Thorne's hand came on her shoulder, holding her down. She didn't flinch this time, but she wasn't sure why they weren't already moving. Whoever was helping Luisa was already clamoring up the ladder.

"There's blood here," said the man.

"Probably a good sign _you're going in the right direction_ ," Luisa snapped.

Cress tried to gather up her courage. The pain in her stomach wasn't going away, even if there wasn't much new blood coming out. It wasn't gushing, at least, and she hoped that meant it was more of a flesh wound than anything serious.

Her heart thundered in her ears as the man strained one arm up and into the chute. Thorne's hand held Cress down by the shoulder. Another _plunk_ as a second hand gripped the chute.

She heard his feet leave the ladder and the way the chute groaned with his added weight as he pulled himself up.

Thorne moved before Cress could even think.

"Go, Cress!" he yelled as he launched himself toward the end of the chute.

Cress scrambled onto her hands and knees, the wound biting into her as she moved. The struggle between Thorne and the man echoed down the chute from behind her. Then she heard a yell, a sickening thud, a gunshot, Luisa's enraged shriek, and the sound of Thorne scurrying behind her.

She couldn't move fast enough and he caught up in no time.

"Keep going!"

"Did you shoot him?"

"No, that was Luisa."

"I can't believe you're working with her."

"I'm not. Keep moving."

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"I haven't heard anything about Luisa being involved. She hit on me at work all the time. It was really tiring."

"Yes, it must be so hard to constantly have people hitting on you."

"You really can't go any faster?"

Cress paused, breathless. "My stomach is bleeding."

He bumped into her butt, and the proximity in this position sent a blush scorching through her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I did."

"Do you need me to carry you?"

"No!"

Their arguments evaporated as gunshots pinged against the chute. Thorne leapt up and smacked into the top. Cress shot forward as though someone was electrocuting her from behind. She kept going until she reached a fork, but by then she could already hear the people in the chute behind them.

"Left, left!" Thorne said.

She didn't even question his directions, nor think twice about the fact that he could probably see her underwear if he got close enough. The loose pants were slowing her down and if she weren't so unnerved by having Thorne behind her she might have considered taking them off completely. But if she was going to die then she was going to die with dignity — which included having clothes on.

If only Cinder hadn't offered to wash her leggings.

_Bang!_

Cress screamed.

"They're still here!"

"Don't shoot in here! This whole thing can explode!"

"Better that she doesn't get away!"

"Aces," Thorne said, "we have to get out of here. Go left—no, right!"

It was getting harder to move. The tunnel was getting smaller and the stench was getting worse. Her stomach was killing her and Thorne was almost constantly bumping into her now. How did he know which way to go? She certainly couldn't tell. All she wanted to do was stop and pull out her portscreen.

A small, untrusting part of herself told her not to do what Thorne wanted. That he was leading her to another trap.

She went to the right anyway.

"Stop. Come back."

She turned and then there was a cranking sound and light below her. Thorne dropped to the ground beneath them. He hit the floor and fell, rolling to his side with a groan. But he was on his feet in an instant, holding out his arms.

"Jump!"

Cress hesitated.

"It's not that far! I'll catch you!"

She could hear the men crawling through the tunnel. She knew there was nowhere else to go.

She dropped down.

It was a clumsy catch, and she was sure it re-opened her wound, but he caught her. He lowered her to the ground gingerly, her body sliding down his until her feet touched the ground. Thorne held on, as if they were hugging, but let go quickly when she took a step back and winced. Her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw the brown-red stain through the ripped top of her pants.

"That looks nasty," Thorne said. "Can you run?"

"I first have to figure out which _way_ we need to run."

Thorne looked like he didn't agree, but Cress was already pulling out her pullscreen. She pinged their location again and when she found that they were not too far from the exit, she could have hugged Thorne for real.

"That way," she said.

Thorne took off, and she tried to keep up. She could tell he had slowed his pace for her, and as he ran just a few steps ahead of her, his gun out, Cress couldn't help but be grateful. She had never been very brave, and what they were doing certainly required bravery. Her escape plans had never included being chased and certainly not shooting anyone, but that was probably a fault within her own imagination.

How had she ever believed she could do this on her own?

She watched the little red dot move on her screen, telling Thorne where to turn and when to stop. They reached the elevator, and Thorne pressed the button.

An alarm went off.

Thorne swore.

"It's okay, I got it," she said. She connected the alarm to another door closer to her cell. The flashing red lights around them shut off instantly.

Thorne jabbed at the button. "Come on, come on, come on."

"It's stuck on ground floor," Cress said. "I'm trying to command it to come down."

"Can you see if anyone is on it?"

"No. They don't have a lot of surveillance around here."

There was shouting from down the hallway.

"It's moving!" Thorne said. "Get behind me."

Cress moved, her portscreen trembling in her hands.

"Still okay if I use this?" Thorne held up the gun.

"Please."

The elevator door dinged. Cress squeezed her eyes shut, unable to stand the suspense.

"Move!" Thorne said.

Cress opened her eyes. The elevator was empty. They could escape!

"Stop!"

Cinder ran at them from down the hallway. Projectiles shot out of her hand. One of them whizzed past Thorne's ear.

"Duck!" she yelled.

But he pulled her into the elevator with her as another projectile almost hit Cress.

Cinder's hand caught in the elevator door.

"Don't let it open, Cress!" Thorne said.

"I'm trying. Cinder is incredibly strong!"

She was. As Cress told the elevator not to open, Cinder's cyborg hand crunched the metal of the door. It molded into her fist, but it wasn't enough to keep the elevator from moving upward.

"Don't do this, Thorne," Cinder said.

Thorne didn't say anything as the hole she'd made in the elevator door was replaced by the black of the wall they were ascending.

"Is she really your best friend?" Cress said quietly.

He didn't look at her. "Not for a long time."

"But you're working with her."

"Didn't know she was involved."

"And Kai?"

"He has nothing to do with this."

"But he asked about Cinder. You told him that you saw her."

"Keeping up appearances. He doesn't need to know that we're not friends anymore."

"But—"

"We're out of time. When that door opens, you run." His eyes pierced hers. "No matter what happens, you run."

"What about you?"

He cocked his gun. "I'm going to make sure you get out of here."

Though she was still mad at him, her heart thudded. "And then…you'll follow me?"

"Ten seconds until the door opens. Do you have somewhere safe you can go?"

"Um…"

"You can't go to the police. Not yet. I've been doing as much snooping around as I could this past week and this is so much bigger than I ever imagined. I mean, even _Luisa_ is here. I think anyone who learns about this project is either going to get killed or taken like you were." He grimaced. "More likely the former, since not many people are useful."

"I don't really know anyone outside of San Diego."

"I think we're in Beijing."

"What!"

"Four seconds. Kai's family has a house here. It's part of his dad's business. You should go there. You can find it using your portscreen. He'll probably be in New York, but he should have an estate manager named Torin if he hasn't died yet. Tell him to give Kai the code CAPTAIN IS KING."

"The code? But you said he wasn't involved—"

"Tell Kai what happened, but don't do it until you see him in person. The internet is watched. Don't trust anyone except Kai. He's a great guy. The best. He'll be in shock at first but he has enough resources with his dad's company that he should be able to keep you protected. If we get separated, I'll find you there."

"But what about—"

"Time's up."

He shoved Cress to the side of the elevator as the doors opened. Bullets burst into the elevator. Cress flattened herself against the wall and tried not to scream. She pocketed her portscreen again.

"I could've sworn Cinder said they were on this elevator."

_Aimery._

Two men walked into the elevator. Thorne knocked the gun out of the hand of one of them, twisted him around, and used him as a shield when the other man shot at him. Thorne shot back and the second man died too.

Cress had to look away from all the blood. She was frozen in her corner of the elevator.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted you," Aimery said.

More bullets entered the elevator but Thorne jumped back to where Cress was and Aimery's shots missed him. Thorne's expression was calm but concentrated. A bead of sweat dripped down his temple. Every now and then, he leaned his gun through the open door and fired back at Aimery.

"Here we go," Thorne whispered. "As soon as we get out there, you're running when I give the word."

He fired again. Someone grunted.

"But what about you?" Cress said, finding that she actually cared about the answer to that question.

"First you," Thorne said. "You're the hero in this story, not me." The bullet ricocheted off the other side of the elevator and embedded itself in the floor. "The hero lives."

There were still so many things she still wanted to yell at him about, and make him feel pain about, and—of course—she still had her plans to ruin his life. But all of those things involved Thorne staying alive for the time being.

All she could think to say was, "You need to live too."

His lips curled into a cocky grin. "Not planning on dying anytime soon. Just making sure you don't hang about if things get ugly."

Thorne burst out of the elevator, bullets blazing.

There was a yell, more bullets, and a moan.

Then silence.

Cress could barely breathe.

"It's okay, Cress!" Thorne called. "I got him. Let's go."

She stumbled out of the elevator, stepping over more than a few dead bodies on the way. They were in the middle of some sort of stocking yard, from what she could tell, with massive crates all around her and the rumble of machinery close by. But Cress gasped at the number of dead people scattered on the ground — the number of people Thorne must've killed.

He was standing over Aimery, his gun pointed at his chest. He was still alive, but barely.

"You've lost, Thorne," he said. "You know we'll never stop hunting you." His eyes flickered to Cress. "Or her."

"Thorne!" Cress said. "Leave him."

"I don't see you running, Cress," Thorne said through thin lips.

"Jerrico will find you just like he found you the first time," Aimery said. "You think we didn't hear all about what you were doing at the time? You're a joke."

Thorne glanced at Cress, then back Aimery. "You should have let me kiss my girl."

Cress jumped as he pulled the trigger.

Thorne jumped as a bullet hit him in the leg.

"Run!" he yelled at Cress.

"But—"

More bullets flew at them from somewhere close by.

"Run!"

She took off with Thorne limping behind her. They weaved behind crate after crate, but after a few minutes of being chased, Thorne stopped. He balanced on one foot, huffing. Unlike her wound from the nail, which still produced a trickle of blood here and there, his was deep and horrifying. He ripped off his shirt and tied it around his wound. She stood there helplessly as blood seeped through the cloth.

He sank to the ground and extended the gun to her. "Take it. Go."

"But you've been shot! They'll find you!"

"That's the point. I'll hold them off while you get away."

This wasn't what she wanted. Not really. Or was it? An hour ago, she couldn't imagine anything better than Thorne's untimely death and her escape from her captors. But he had just helped her escape. He was offering to save her while he held them off. If he had done that, then maybe he wasn't as terrible of a person as she thought him to be.

"Don't worry about me," he told her now. "I'll be okay. I always am."

"Thorne…"

"No time for that now. You can hear them coming just as much as I can." He held the gun out again. "I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. I can only make sure you escape."

She remembered his tear-stained face the night they had been attacked at his apartment. The way he had tried to keep her from being taken. Thorne sobbing as one of the armed men pushed his face into the floor with his boot.

 _"I'm sorry!"_ he had said. _"I'm so sorry!"_

She pushed the memory away and closed her hand around the gun. She thrust it back at him. "I'll go, but you take this. I'll never be able to use it."

"Cress—"

"You don't get to make all the decisions. I'm not taking the gun if you're staying here."

Their pursuers were only a few crates away from them. Thorne grabbed her hand. Their eyes met and very slowly, he nodded. He took the gun and let go of Cress.

She took off, stealing a glance over her shoulder as she did. Thorne scooted to the corner of the crate, clutching his gun in front of him. She turned away and put all of her thoughts into getting out of the yard alive. She considered hiding inside one of the crates—she was certainly small enough and there was no way they could go searching through all of these without ruining the cargo. But she had just spent days locked up in a little cell, so she was not about to get locked up and shipped away by accident.

She skidded to a halt when she heard the gunfire.

Multiple rounds, then dead silence.

A tear slid down her cheek as she began running again, working through the sting in her stomach and wondering where she might get a change of clothes on her way to Kai's. If she was really in Beijing, then she would stick out like a sore thumb with her blond hair and pasty skin. But she had her portscreen, and she knew enough about manipulating surveillance that maybe she had a chance. She just had to get out of the yard and figure out where Kai lived.

But was that really the right place to go?

Should she really trust Thorne?

He had just saved her, but she still didn't know.

* * *

Six grueling hours later, Cress rang the bell of a luxurious apartment building called Phoenix Towers. A Chinese man with salt-and-pepper hair answered the video intercom. His brown eyes narrowed when she said she needed to see Kai.

She attempted to repeat the words in Mandarin. She had looked up the translation on her portscreen and written it on her hand.

"Mr. Huang is not here," he said in English.

"Yes, I know," she said, trying to sound less desperate than she felt. "I know he's in New York. I need to speak with him urgently."

"Mr. Huang is reachable by his usual business number."

"Please, I can't reach him. I need help. I—tell him CAPTAIN IS KING."

"What is your name, Miss?"

"I can't—tell you. In public. Are you Torin? Let me in and I'll tell you everything. Please! CAPTAIN IS KING!"

She knew someone was following her. She had felt someone's presence the whole time she'd been trying to make it to Kai's. That was why she had given the portscreen to a child on the street. She was sure it had a tracker and she hadn't had the time to remove anything while she'd been on the run. She had to get inside before they figured out that she no longer had it.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but Mr. Huang is not available. Good day."

All the adrenaline left her. She hadn't slept or eaten since she'd escaped the stocking yard. She didn't have her portscreen. She was afraid to go to the police. She should have used her portscreen to send an encrypted message to Kai instead of wasting her time finding an old man. She kept the button pressed down. "Tell Kai I need help urgently and that I say CAPTAIN IS KING. Please tell him. CAPTAIN IS KING. CAPTAIN IS KING."

She slumped against the wall of the apartment building as the man's face disappeared from the intercom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Feelings? Predictions?


	23. Chapter 23

Cress had only managed to pick herself up off the ground when a man in the uniform of a doorman emerged from the apartment complex. Could she get by him? Distract him? Do something to get herself inside the building?

She tried to lean inconspicuously against the wall and picked at her fingernails as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He turned directly toward her and her eyes shot to the ground, a flush creeping on her cheeks. Though she'd purchased some clothing and antiseptic from a street vendor using the stolen portscreen, she was still filthy. Her cheeks were stained with tears and grime.

The doorman said something in Mandarin. Cress's eyes flickered to his. He was speaking directly to her. Though she'd planned to avoid him until she could dodge past him into the building, her plan changed. Maybe he would feel bad for her and let her into the building.

"Help me," she pleaded in English.

He shook his head and continued speaking in Mandarin.

"I'm hurt." She lifted her shirt to reveal the bandage beneath it. Her quick work with it was holding up well enough, but it needed changing. She pointed at it, but the doorman only frowned.

Then he pointed at the door.

Cress nodded hopefully. "Yes, I need to get in there. I need to see someone. Kai Huang. Torin. Kai."

The man nodded and punched in the code to the glass doors. They whooshed open and Cress could have collapsed with relief. She hadn't needed to do anything illegal and she was already in the building.

Her face fell when she saw the man from the videocom standing by the elevators wearing an unsympathetic scowl.

She wiped at her face. "Sir, I really do know Kai. I met him San Diego with a friend of his, named—"

"Mr. Huang will see you now, miss, if you'll follow me to the penthouse." The man gestured at the elevator.

Cress had to put a hand against the wall to stay upright. "You mean Kai—he's here? In Beijing?"

The man only raised an impatient eyebrow.

Cress thanked the doorman and the man and hurried into the elevator. Her legs trembled in relief as the elevator ticked upward. The man said nothing so neither did Cress. For a moment, she thought _trap_ and _run_. By the time the doors opened directly into the penthouse, Cress could barely follow the man out of it.

The apartment was regal and elegant—not a décor Cress would have chosen for herself but one that spoke of old money and a flair for antique collections. The man brought her through three rooms until they reached a sitting room with a view of the Beijing skyline. Kai stood with his back to them. His hair was rumpled, as though he had run his fingers through it too much, and he wore slacks and a white shirt. He turned when he heard them come in.

Memories of San Diego and playing footsie with Thorne under the restaurant table swept over Cress like waves, but so did suspicion about Kai. Anything related to Thorne was suspicious now. Everything had been a lie. Still, after escaping the underground warehouse and enduring through the day, a familiar face was all she needed to burst into fresh tears. She flung herself at him.

He startled, then let himself be hugged. Within a few moments, his arms encased gingerly around her too.

"Kai!" she sobbed. "I've never been happier to see anyone in my life. Thorne said I could come here for help—Thorne—Thorne said—Thorne—he—I've just escaped—I—Kai—"

"Okay, shhh, calm down for a minute. I can't understand anything you're saying." He pulled away with a a kind smile. "It looks like you could use a warm cup of tea. Torin?" He glanced at the old man then back at Cress. "Thorne is in trouble, right?"

"I'm not sure if he's al-al—" She couldn't finish the sentence and buried her face in Kai's chest, waiting for him to resist. He was still mostly a stranger, but he was clean and warm and familiar.

A hesitant finger tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Can we do anything to help him in the next ten minutes?"

She shook her head.

"Then let's get you cleaned up before we chat. The doorman told Torin you were injured. Do you need medical attention?"

"I'm not sure," she said, trying to compose herself. "I was kidnapped from my apartment in San Diego. They're after me. I think they…have Thorne. But Thorne isn't…" She couldn't finish that sentence either. What if Kai wasn't good either? Why was she here if she couldn't trust either of them?

"Do they know you came here? Can you give me their location?" Kai said sharply. He shouted something in Mandarin and Torin came hustling out, teapot in his hand, as Cress gave them the GPS location of the underground warehouse. Whatever Kai told Torin made his brows furrow and his legs hustle across the room into another one. He shut the door behind him.

"They might have traced me by a portscreen signal," Cress said. "I tried to jam the signal before I gave it away to a little kid in the street. But I didn't do my best work." She sniffed. "I was too distracted trying to get here, trying to forget what happened today. I'm okay, I think, but I hit a rusty nail while we were escaping. That was more than six hours ago." She lifted her bandage, not caring at all that she was exposing part of her bare stomach to someone she barely knew.

"May I?" Kai bent to inspect it as if he had medical training. He lifted her makeshift bandage before she even had a change to respond. Cress winced, but at least the blood seemed contained. "Had a tetanus shot recently?"

She nodded. "Last year."

"Then head over to the bathroom." He pointed toward the hallway from which they had entered. "You'll find bandages, antibacterial ointment, the works in the cabinet. Get cleaned up and then we'll have a chat. No point in getting an infection."

"I could already have one by now."

"Then I'll give you antibiotics."

Cress frowned. "You have those?"

"A lot of things are more readily available here than in the US," he said, pulling out a phone. "I'm going to make a few calls while you take care of that."

"But…aren't you going to ask who kidnapped me?"

He grimaced. "I'm pretty sure I already know."

"But—"

"Health first, then questions."

He dialed a number on his phone and walked to the other side of the room, leaving Cress standing there, jaw slack, with part of her shirt still lifted up. Kai spoke in a language she didn't understand, so there was no way she could stay and eavesdrop, so she headed to the bathroom, her mind whirring.

The bathroom was right by elevator. She took her time eyeing it over. It looked like it required a code.

Cress was good with codes.

But was she good enough to get away if she needed to?

Was Kai part of the entire kidnapping and calling Aimery and Cinder right now?

Her heart jumped a little as she considered running away exactly now, while both Torin and Kai were distracted.

_"Don't trust anyone except Kai. He's a great guy. The best."  
_

It was exactly what a conman would say to get a girl to do what he wanted.

But the exhaustion that accompanied her heavy heart made her shuffle into the bathroom. She washed her face and fixed up her bandage. It was still gross but there was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary—hopefully no infection. She took her time searching for something that she could use as a weapon. She paused when she found feminine products. Did Kai have a girlfriend here in Beijing? Did he live with someone? He had seemed so intrigued at the idea of hearing about Cinder only weeks ago.

Cress shook her head. Why did it matter? Clearly everyone had lied to her and she probably wasn't going to figure out the truth by making guesses about an assortment of tampons.

In the end, she stashed a toothbrush and a pair of tweezers into her new pants and stuck her head out of the bathroom. The blue light from the elevator panel blinked at her but other than that it was silent. She padded out into the penthouse, taking the corners like the spies she had seen in the movies, always checking with her head before taking a precarious step. When she found Kai sitting in a couch, rubbing his forehead, she breathed a sigh of relief. No one else had come in the time she'd been gone.

At least, she hoped.

Kai looked up. "Feeling better?"

Cress glared at him. "Enough! I've met you _one_ time. I show up at an apartment you own in a _foreign country_ which you never even told me about. I gave your—your—whatever Torin is—a _code_ to get into your apartment. I tell you I've been _kidnapped_ and you say you _already know_. I came here and didn't go to the police because _another man I barely_ know told me to come here and I still decided to trust him for some starforsaken reason even though he _seduced and conned me_ because he's part of some organization bent on killing me for a project I'm involved with and got me kidnapped. He killed numerous people! And is probably dead! I need to know what's going on _right now_."

Her outburst seemed to stun Kai and she pressed her lips into a thin line to not give away that it had stunned her a little too. This speech—among many other words—should have been for Thorne. She had to remind herself that she really, really didn't know Kai.

And that he might be really, really bad.

Kai finally ran a hand through his hair. "Thorne seduced and conned you?" His face had paled.

Cress started even as a blush spread through her as her words were repeated back to her. "You didn't know that?"

He shook his head.

"Thorne is the reason I got kidnapped! I trusted him and—and—"

She burst into tears again. She turned her face, angry that he could still affect her in this way.

"I'm sorry. All I knew is that you were kidnapped," Kai said slowly.

Cress wiped her cheeks and took a seat in the armchair across from him.

"I thought both you _and_ Thorne were kidnapped. Can you tell me what happened?"

"No." It could be a trick. "You tell me what you know first."

"Very well." Kai sighed heavily and ran both his hands through his hair this time. "Working for my dad's company is just a ruse. I mean, I consult with him from time to time, but really I travel because I work for an organization here in China that has me stationed in the US for intel and the completion of certain tasks…missions, I suppose you could call them."

"You're a Chinese _spy_?"

"To the extent where you would be able to understand what I do from films, yes, you could say that."

"For the Chinese government?!"

He laughed dryly. "No. One can hardly trust any government these days. It's independent."

Cress scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're not a spy. A spy wouldn't tell me he was a spy. You're in league with Thorne and his horrible organization." She got to her feet, shaking.

"Wait." He stood and put an arm on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me."

She flinched away and he took a step back, holding up his hands. "I'm sorry. I told you the truth because, well, after all of this is done both of us are either going to be dead or in witness protection of some sort. Maybe not in the same countries, but…" He took one look at Cress's face and barreled on: "Okay, okay. So my organization has been interested in a project for quite some time now, one that keeps popping up on the radar and then falling off again for several years now. They sent me out to San Diego when reports came through that Sybil Mira had tried to infiltrate Satellite Technologies."

"You know Sybil Mira?"

"She's part of a competing organization. No—not a spy one. Unless you consider terrorist organizations part of the spy game."

"Terrorist organizations!?"

"She's part of an umbrella organization that broke off into two group a few years back. We don't interact with either of them much but after Mira showed up—"

"You don't interact? And what type of organization do you work for if you're not a terrorist too?"

"Well, I like to think that most of our organization is upstanding at least morally, even if sometimes we need to break international laws to accomplish our goals."

"Which are!?" Cress was still standing, but Kai sank back into his chair.

"I can't disclose that, but suffice it to say that we mostly uh…uphold the interests of powerful clients. Our aim is more on the investment side, influencing where we can, rather than a group like the one Mira belongs to, which is more on the overthrowing governments side of the spectrum."

Cress's eyes bulged.

"Now, it was quite a shock to me when Thorne brought _you_ of all people to lunch in San Diego. Satellite Technologies's top tech professional, Cress Darnel." He held out his arms in front of him like Cress was some sort of amazing exhibit. "I knew you were working on the project, and I knew my clients wanted to get their hands on it, and keeping it a secret at that surprising lunch was harder than I thought. I wanted to joke about it with Thorne, like, 'buddy, just let me spend a few hours with your girl.'" He laughed but Cress did not.

The tip of his ears turned red. " _Not_ in a bad way. I'm on the side of wanting to destroy that project and I thought maybe if I was honest with you about it I could convince you to do it. I see now that waiting was a mistake. But my associate said to wait and not engage—and you were Thorne's girlfriend so it was weird anyway, and I couldn't figure out Thorne's involvement, if any…he's always had a tendency to get himself into trouble—so I stayed in San Diego, waiting for one of the other interested parties—organizations, to be clear—to engage. Then I found a way to contact you anonymously without blowing my cover." He checked his watch. "We were supposed to have a meeting online a few days ago."

"You were the anonymous boy online who offered to share government secrets?"

"I hired someone."

"Someone phenomenal." Cress was impressed. "Those encryptions should have been impossible to crack except for the best of the best."

He shrugged. "There are people here in China who can do what you do, of course. You just have to know where to find them. The project has long been worked on by many prodigies."

"You tricked me." Cress's mind spun. "So you're not working with Thorne? He's part of Sybil's group instead? Does he know you're a spy? Or whatever you are?"

"Thorne thinks I work for my dad's company. And it's unclear what his role in this is. We do believe the second group—the one no longer connected to Mira, is the one that kidnapped you." He pulled a picture up on his phone. "Do you recognize this woman?"

Cress nodded, a prick of annoyance and fear clouding her already throbbing head. "That's Luisa. She works at Satellite Technologies."

Kai shook his head. "That's not her real name. She's had many in the past."

"Give me her real name. Give me all their names. I can do a lot—find out a lot—with anyone's real name. I don't even need a social security number."

"Let's finish up our stories first. You did want to know everything, didn't you? And I must admit I'm eager for you to fill in some blanks, if you can."

She let out a breath. "Go on."

Torin entered the room and set down a coffee and some biscuits for Cress. When she shoved the biscuits in her mouth, Kai said, "How about a warm meal, Torin?"

Torin gave a curt nod. Kai spoke in Mandarin again and Torin left them alone.

"This 'Luisa' is, we believe, the head of the group that kidnapped you. She's recently…ah, succeeded the previous leader. Now, a few key players we're aware of." Kai scrolled through a few more pictures.

"Aimery," Cress said, pointing. "Jacin. The rest I don't recognize. Jacin was one of the people who came to my apartment. He and a few other masked menbroke in with a man named Jerrico, who seemed to be in charge. They knew who I was and they knew Thorne. Jerrico was going to kill him because he did something to betray them, I think. I've been replaying his words a lot and it sounded like Thorne didn't complete whatever mission he was meant to do." She tried to ignore the sting that resurfaced whenever she remember that _she_ was his mission." Aimery kept wanting to kill him because of it.

"So Thorne _is_ a part of their organization." Kai looked out the window, deep in thought. "I find that extremely hard to believe. He's never come up on any radar. Small indiscretions throughout his life—theft and things like that—but never anything this big. Though, I suppose he did disappear for two years. But he resurfaced…" He seemed deep in thought but Cress pointed a finger at him.

"Thorne had a gun stashed in his _nightstand_! He killed numerous people without blinking! He managed to make me believe he was falling for me but really he was just using me to—to—I don't know! Get information about the program? Make sure they could kidnap me easily? And the code! If you're not working with him, what does CAPTAIN IS KING mean? How was _that_ what got me inside the building? It's his Instagram username, for star's sake!"

"Thorne and I used to be the best friends. We knew each other before college, even. Thorne used to refer to himself as the Captain—don't ask, long story—but somehow whenever he was in a pinch he'd say those words as a code for help. 'Captain is king.' Maybe because he has trouble asking for help or didn't want to admit in public that he needed help? In college, it became code for 'I'm drunk and need a ride home from this party' or 'I can't stand this girl that I flirted with all night and now I need an easy out.' When Torin told me that you were saying Captain is king I knew something was going on with Thorne. Plus, I flew to Beijing specifically to look for you."

"You did?"

"Cress, a lot of people care that you're missing."

"They do? But I don't have any family…" She trailed off, thinking, 'nor friends' and remembered when Thorne had asked her in the elevator about whether she had people she could call after Sybil Mira had attacked them. It had seemed so casual, like he was looking out for her. Had he just been gauging whether anyone would miss her?

"Your boss is concerned, your security team, and your friend Julian won't stop calling the police."

Her heart stung anew at the mention of Julian. At least this meant he was alive—for now. Would Aimery go after him now that Cress had escaped? Would someone else? "How do you know that?"

"We intercepted the communication. The local police has listed you as a missing person, possible kidnapping, likely a double homicide. Thorne's apartment was left in quite the bloody mess and their security footage showed the two of you entering the apartment together, clearly amorous, but never leaving. Julian believes that Thorne may have killed you himself. He has many theories."

Kai said this seriously, but Cress got a vivid picture of Julian telling anyone who would listen about how Thorne had seduced and killed her. And, in some ways, he wasn't entirely wrong…

"Who is 'we' again?" she said, trying to focus on what she needed to know. Kai's group sounded just as shady as ever, but she needed more information. And she needed access to a computer. "Your association of not-really-terrorist-spies but basically the same thing?"

"'We' is my U.S.-based associate and me. My organization doesn't have a lot of dealings in the U.S. but when we do, they assign us. That's why we were recruited. We both grew up mostly in the U.S. and reside there but also have international ties. I tend to take care of the talking and negotiating. If force is needed, they usually send in my associate. She's much more persuasive than I am."

"What's her name?"

Kai checked his phone. "You'll meet her soon enough. She's with a local team trying to get to the GPS coordinates you gave us. Though, if you escaped, I doubt we'll find anything but vacant property by the time we get there."

"What's her name?"

"She goes by Scarlet. That's all I can tell you."

Cress rubbed her eyes. This was too much. Jerry had been right about this project being trouble. Which reminded her—

"Why are you interested in the project? Why do you care? And why do you care about _me_? No. Don't tell me something vague about your clients. I deserve the truth if you don't want me to go to the police."

Torin returned with some soup but Cress waved him away. She hadn't even touched her tea, but decided finally to take some sips. The warm water against her parched throat reminded her that she hadn't eaten all day. Still, it was hard to find an appetite. She focused on taking small sips of her tea while Kai talked.

"As I said, the program has long been of interest to some of my clients. We've been tracking it because the rumors about it are terrible and would destroy many things that they hold dear—that I hold dear too. About thirty years ago, a group of scientists were doing experiments with lunar rocks. I'm no expert, but I've read a report or two, and something about the lunar rocks was crystallized into a type of powder that, after being treated with radiation, could cause a person to fall prey to influence. Brainwashing people, getting them to do whatever the scientists wanted, that sort of thing. Now, the experiment was disbanded by the U.S. government about twenty years ago, but the story goes that whoever created it managed to replicate the properties of these lunar rocks cybernetically. Is that possible?"

Cress's mind raced through everything she had learned. "It would be…futuristic."

"So even though the rocks disappeared, the concept of brainwashing remained. However, the creator of the program left it in the most complicated, almost impossible coding, and barely anyone has been able to crack it. Everytime someone gets close, many people die because so many people want to get their hands on it. There were rumors that the U.S. government had gotten its hands on it again—"

"My boss, Jerry, told me that it was a government project."

"Well, anyone who hired Satellite Technologies could easily finagle that story. It's not hard to imitate government resources. We're not entirely sure who hired Satellite Technologies this time, but it looks like they wanted to go about it in a fairly legitimate way."

"Jerrico said they had hired Thorne to get to know me. So why would they do that if they could have just kidnapped me from the start?" The thought made her shudder.

"It's easier to get things done when people aren't missing and international authorities aren't looking for you. So they gave you the project quietly. Good for them, when you think about it. Until Mira showed up, no one was none the wiser that you were even working on it. Maybe they could have gotten their hands on the answer without having to clean up a mess like they do now. Now they have probably more than just my organization looking for them. Not smart.

"This where I come in. This is why it matters to me. Most of my clients are bigger business entities who hire organizations like mine to do their…ah, dirty work, so to speak, for them. Now, imagine if you were to crack the code and finally give them this program in working condition. Stocks are only one of the things that do poorly when there's terrorism. And with a program like this in the hand of terrorists, they could make entire governments collapse depending on who they control. _How_ they'll use it though, is still to be answered."

"But I did solve the program," Cress said, feeling a horrible knot unfurl in her stomach. "It was the programming for an A.I. named Iko. They had a body ready for her chip. I helped Cinder insert it."

"Cinder?" said Kai sharply. He sat up straight in his chair. "Surely you don't mean…?"

Cress crossed her arms. "Yes, your ex-girlfriend. And Thorne's friend. If any of that was even true. Cinder is practically running the group that kidnapped me!"

"No, that can't be true. I cut all ties with her on purpose after college. So she wouldn't get involved when I was recruited…" A bead of sweat had appeared on Kai's forehead.

"She's involved, Kai! She is so, so deeply involved. And so is Thorne! Oh, and your ex? She's a _cyborg_!"

After looking like he was choking for a moment, Kai rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I…I'll think about what all this means later. For now, I need to know more about this A.I. Her name was Iko, you said?"

"That's all I know. Thorne helped me escape right after Cinder and I put her together."

"Did you detect anything special about her body? Any trace of lunar rocks?"

"I wasn't looking for lunar rocks! I don't even know what a lunar rock looks like! I was focused on the tech!"

Kai looked rather disappointed and still a bit disoriented. "There's no need for an A.I. unless they have special intentions with it…"

"I don't know. I—I just want to know what Thorne's real role in this was, if he's alive, and when I can go home!"

Kai finally stood. "You're not going to be able to go home for a long time, I'm afraid. If anyone catches wind of you, they'll snatch you up immediately."

"So you're just going to keep me prisoner here? Like Cinder's group?"

He flinched at the mention of her name. "You came to me, remember? But I'm afraid now that you're here I can't just let you waltz away to wherever you want to go. I need to consult with my associates and, unfortunately, put the interests of my clients ahead of your desire to go home."

"They're _clients_."

"Who have the same concerns I do. It's more important to maintain international security and take down a terrorist cell, can't you see that?"

"Why don't you let the real spies do their jobs? _They_ should take down terrorist cells."

"Because they're shit, that's why," Kai said. "Do you ever read the news? Most governments are completely incompetent. They're lined up with the bad guys, usually, who bought them out. You don't know the half of it."

"And you're not bought out by your 'clients'?"

Kai didn't say anything.

Cress closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up from a terrible nightmare.

Torin hurried into the room. "Mr. Huang, Ms. Blackburn is on her way. She should be here in thirty minutes."

Kai said something else in Mandarin. To Cress, he said, "That's my girlfriend. We had dinner scheduled tonight but I don't think it would be a good idea for her to see you. One can never be too careful, right? Torin will figure out a place to hide you while I think of an excuse to send her away." He looked her over. "Good thing you're so tiny. I have many closets."

"You're hiding me in a _closet_?"

"Just for a few minutes, I promise."

Cress glared at him. "It better be a closet with pillows and a blanket. And I want a laptop. I'm going to verify everything you've said in those few minutes. That I can promise _you_."

He hesitated momentarily, but then nodded. "Understandable."

A blue light flashed all around them and Cress's body jumped back into panic mode. But she saw no immediate danger around her.

Kai frowned. "She said thirty minutes. Did you get the message wrong, Torin?"

Torin went to the elevator and punched in a code. Cress watched his finger movement, but it didn't open the elevator. A screen to the right of it turned on – the intercom!

Her heart lurched when she saw who was down there.

Thorne's bloody, bruised face was pressed against the camera. Against the darkness behind him, he looked like something out of a horror movie. "Help me," he wheezed. "Kai, help…" His face went away momentarily, and Cress thought Torin had shut off the camera, but then she caught sight of him collapsing a few feet away. He lay on the ground, moaning, his arm reaching up toward the camera like it might take away his pain.

Kai sprinted toward the elevator. _"Fuck!"_


	24. Chapter 24

It was like having an out of body experience.

Kai dragging Thorne into the apartment. The security system beeping shut. Torin rushing over with medical supplies. Kai's fingers moving expertly over wounds, then taking only a few seconds to strip Thorne down to his boxers.

"Wake up, Thorne," he said, pushing a cloth to Thorne's bullet wound. "Wake up, buddy. I know you're in there. I know this hurts. I need you to wake up."

Thorne's body was covered in bruises, and though she had seen the evidence of that at the warehouse, she had not realized to what extent they had beaten him. His leg was covered in blood, though it didn't look fresh.

Kai nodded at Torin. "Hold pressure here. We need to clean this up and stitch him up."

"Should I call an ambulance, sir?"

"No time. Hold pressure here."

Torin knelt next to Thorne and took over pushing down on the wound. "No bullet."

Kai peeled back Thorne's eyelids.

He pressed two fingers to his neck.

"Cress, I need you to watch the cameras."

She could barely recognize Thorne as the man she had known at Satellite Technologies. His face was so ashen, his body so broken.

"Cress!"

She blinked.

Kai was staring at her. "I need you to watch the cameras. Anyone could be on their way. Can you watch them? I need surveillance everywhere around the building. Password is Cinder."

She blinked again. "Cinder? You mean—"

_"Can you do it?"_

"Y-Yes," she stammered.

Kai threw his phone at Cress. She stared at it dumbly until she realized that the security system was probably connected to his phone. She held it in her hands, shaking as Kai sprinted out of the room. She opened it up and sure enough, the password to get into his phone was _Cinder_.

She didn't have time to think about it. Nor did she have time to look at all the things that would have interested her on Kai's phone only minutes ago. She was in the security system within seconds, finding that he had very intricate surveillance set up. There were even cameras down the street from where she had come. Everything looked calm, so she looked back at Thorne with a trembling lip.

"Found it," Kai said to Torin, totally ignoring Cress. "Let's get him in the bathroom so I can stitch this up. There's going to be a lot of blood. Once we've taken care of it, maybe smelling salts? His pulse is strong, so it could be shock."

Torin nodded, but Cress nearly fainted when she saw some of the tools Kai held in his hands. _Was he going to sew Thorne up with household needle and thread?_

"Are you watching those cameras or not?" Kai growled.

"There's no one," she said with a gasp.

"Don't look away for a second. I know they're coming."

"O-Okay. I won't look away."

"Don't come in the bathroom, no matter what you hear."

Cress put all of her attention into Kai's phone and the data it was giving her, but also kept looking back up at the security camera panel that was connected to the elevator. She double-checked that everything was locked down and activated Kai's sensors inside the apartment. She didn't know if there were other entrances, but she wasn't going to take any risk. If Torin or Kai triggered an indoor alarm, she could just put in the password.

The password.

Why was it _Cinder_?

Was Kai working with Cinder? Was that it? Why would he be helping Thorne right now if that were it?

Unless he was still in _love_ with Cinder…

But he had a girlfriend.

He hadn't seen Cinder since college.

Or had he?

Was she playing him? Was he playing her?

Was Thorne playing all of them?

Her mind hummed with questions as she waited for something to appear on the screen.

An agonized moan sent fear shooting down her spine. Thorne was clearly awake. She was so turned around by the night's events that she didn't even know if she wanted him to be okay. But if he died, all the answers to her questions died along with him.

She tried to distract herself by setting up a new firewall on Kai's phone. She did her best to encrypt as much of his data as she could so that he wouldn't be able to access it. A phone alone wasn't enough to do what she used to do, but it was a start.

Thorne was screaming now.

Cress continued working, but she had no server to send the information to in case the one Kai was using was being watched. And if he really did have tech geniuses working along with him, they could trace what she was doing.

Cress could have screamed herself.

Then she saw something.

A woman with auburn hair and brown eyes walked up to the videocom. She pushed the buzzer and her face appeared on the screens by the elevator and then on Kai's phone. Cress quickly blacked out any signals from her end.

"Torin? Torin? You know I don't like standing out here waiting."

Cress ran into the bathroom and nearly threw up when she saw how much blood was in the tub. Thorne was in it, his eyes opening and closing. Kai and Torin were both huddled over his leg.

"Someone's here," Cress said. "What should I do?"

"Don't let them in," Kai said.

"I think it's your girlfriend."

This made Kai look up. His hands were covered in blood and Cress had to resist the urge to vomit yet again. "Shit. Let me see."

Cress held out his phone.

"Torin, if you don't let me in this instant, I'm going to have Kai fire you once and for all."

"Everybody shut up for one second," Kai said.

Torin put a hand over Thorne's mouth.

"Connect the intercom only, not the video," Kai said.

It took Cress a second but she got it to work.

"Hey, baby," Kai said, all cool and relaxed. Cress didn't like how he could change personalities so quickly. Was this how Thorne was? "I'm having some trouble with my security system. Can you give me a minute?"

Her voice was a little less acidic, but still not as pleasant as Cress would have expected from a girlfriend. "What's wrong with it? Why can't I see your face?"

Thorne gave a long moan.

"What was that?"

"Torin's uh, sick. Nasty stomach bug. He's in the bathroom."

"Ewww."

"You know he's the one who's in charge of this surveillance and it's always been a little over the top. Let me figure out what I'm not pressing correctly and I'll get you right up. Unless you don't want to risk getting sick?"

"Nonsense. We made plans."

Thorne moaned again.

"Are you in the bathroom _with_ him?"

"Hang on, Levana, let me just figure out how to unlock this dumb door."

"I can't believe you're _that_ dependent on your servants, Kai."

 _Hang up,_ he mouthed to Cress.

She disconnected the intercom. "Just tell her to leave."

"She'll get suspicious," he said, his eyes frantic. "She's already suspicious."

"Does she know you're a spy?"

"I don't know! I'm not sure! She _shouldn't_ but—"

Another moan from Thorne.

"Okay, let me just get rid of her. She won't leave unless I let her in, so…" He snapped his fingers at Torin. "We have to move him."

Torin looked at Kai, unconvinced. "But sir, maybe it's best to keep him the bathroom, with all that blood."

"Forget the blood. We've wrapped his wound enough for now. He can't stay in here. The bathroom is too obvious."

Cress exchanged a glance with Torin. "But she thinks Torin is in the bathroom. It's a perfect place to hide."

"No, no," Kai said. He washed his hands frantically and splashed water on his face. "She'll think it's weird if Torin is in there for too long. He has to eventually come out. And Cress has to hide anyway. Oh for all the stars! How did this escalate so quickly?" He muttered to himself and ran his hands through his hair.

Cress gasped. "The doorman downstairs. He's letting her in!"

Kai swore.

Torin said, "Keep her locked out, Cress. The elevator won't open into the apartment unless we allow it.

"But she'll wonder why I'm not opening it _manually_ ," Kai said. He shook out his hands. "Okay, what am I saying? This is a manageable problem. I've just stitched up an old friend of mine who is surprisingly _also_ undercover. I can handle my _girlfriend_. Torin, help me lift Thorne. We'll hide him with Cress. You'll stay in the bathroom and use all the ammonium you can to clean up the blood as quickly as possible. Then you'll come outside and act like everything is normal. Well, except for your stomach."

Torin lifted an eyebrow.

"There's no time to question this," Kai said. "Levana is coming and she cannot know that Thorne and Cress are here! _No one can know_."

He put one leg in the bathtub and looped his arms under Thorne's armpits. Torin reached for his feet. Together, they hauled Thorne up and out of the bathroom. Cress followed behind, feeling frozen even as her feet moved. _Hide him with Cress?_ She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be in the same _country_ as him.

They carried him into a gigantic bedroom and stopped in front of one of many wall-length closets. "Get in here," Kai told Cress. "Levana thinks everything in this closet is old and should be thrown away. She'll never come over here."

"I can't—"

"Please, Cress. We have less than a minute. Torin, go make sure there's no blood in the entryway and then _get in the bathroom_."

Torin scampered off.

Cress reluctantly got in the closet. "I'm keeping your phone," she said, feeling like it was the tiniest of security blankets in this messed up situation.

Kai looked like he wanted to protest, but all he did was shuffle into the closet with Thorne. "Can you hold his head? Cradle it or something? And keep him from moaning?"

"Wait," Cress whispered, her body already trembling. _Hold Thorne_? But all that came out was, "Is he going to die?"

"He shouldn't," Kai said, though very unconvincingly. "But we'll _all_ be dead if anyone figures out you're here. Please, Cress."

He shut the door quickly, plunging Cress into darkness when he shut the bedroom door too. There were alternating panels in the closet door, but without any light at all it was no use. She shifted off her knees and moved Thorne's upper body until it was in her lap and his head was against her chest. She couldn't stop trembling.

Thorne's breathing came labored, and he let out what sounded like small, intermittent whimpers.

"Shh," she said. "We have to stay quiet."

She didn't know if he could hear her.

She heard voices coming from outside the bedroom door, but couldn't make them out. Thorne's near-naked body was heavy against her, his skin sweaty and reeking of disinfectant. She pulled out Kai's phone to distract herself again. With shaky fingers, she typed in _Levana Blackburn._

She was quite the socialite in Beijing, and many searches resulted in tabloid pictures—some of them with Kai. She was ten years older than him, which struck Cress as rather odd, but maybe Kai liked older women. Maybe he was playing her too. Maybe Levana liked younger men.

Maybe Cress knew _nothing_.

The bedroom door burst open and light assaulted her eyes. She nearly squeaked, then pocketed the phone and pressed her hand over Thorne's mouth. But she was afraid she might kill him if she cut off his air supply. When she felt his breath come out of his nose, she closed her eyes in relief.

"Baby, where are you going?" Kai's voice said, but two sets of footsteps came into the bedroom.

Cress ducked down in the closet.

"I can't find my sunglasses," Levana said. "Maybe I left them in here."

"Oh, I'm sure Nainsi would have found them," Kai said. "Why don't we go back into the sitting room?"

"Is it possible Nainsi put them in the wrong place, thinking they were yours? She's a _terrible_ housekeeper."

Cress didn't much like her, nor her syrupy voice. Although she supposed a snooty girlfriend was better than one who was capable of murder, like Cinder.

Cress's mind jumped to Kai's password again.

"I quite like Nainsi," Kai said. "Come on, baby, let's look for the sunglasses some other time. Let's go sit down. I'm feeling really off, with Torin, and the security system, and—"

"Maybe she put them in your storage closet."

Cress's heart dropped to her feet at the same time that Thorne stirred. She bent to whisper in his ear. "Shhh, Thorne. Please, please be quiet. It's Cress. You're safe. You're safe. It's Cress. Shhh."

"No way is it in there," Kai said too enthusiastically, making Cress's heart race even more. "No one's been in that old thing for months."

"Don't be silly. I was looking through it just last week."

Cress gritted her teeth. _Men_.

Footsteps approached the closet. Cress could make out red heels through the panels in the closet door. She pressed her back to the wall of the closet, like she could disappear if she just made herself small enough. Of course, Thorne lying almost prone against her didn't help at all.

A hand on the door. The door was _opening_. She shut her eyes.

"Wait."

Cress peeked through a squinted eyelid. The closet door was still partly open. The red heels were turned away from the closet door now.

"I haven't seen you all day, baby, and the first thing you do is go looking for accessories? You're hurting my sensitive male bravado." A pair of black shoes—Kai's—stepped next to the heels. "At least give me a proper hello."

The distinctive sound of kissing filled an otherwise silent room. Levana's heels took a step back into the closet, but Kai's hand came to wrap around her back. _"Oh..."_ Levana breathed. Kai pulled her forward and pressed her back against the door. Cress wrinkled her nose.

The kissing eventually stopped, but not soon enough.

"Hi baby," Kai said, pulling Levana away from the closet and shutting the door. "I missed you. I was thinking—"

Levana cut his words off with another kiss, and then another, and another, and before Cress could even process what was happening, she heard the two of them fall into bed together. Cress peeked through the panel and jerked her head back when she saw Levana's feet on top of Kai's.

Okay, no big deal, this was just a distraction. Kai was trying to keep her mind off the closet. Kai was distracting her. The reminder didn't keep her cheeks from burning as Levana's whimpers matched the noises Thorne had been making earlier, only she clearly wasn't in pain.

"I've missed you too," Levana said, her voice going up an octave, the bedsheets rustling. "It's been way too long since we last—"

Kai cut her words off this time, and Cress was so, so thankful.

"Cress."

Her hands flew to Thorne's mouth. In all her mortification with Levana and Kai, she had forgotten to hold his lips closed. She whispered for him to be quiet again.

" _Cress_." Her name came out like a moan.

"What was that?" said Levana.

"Probably Torin," Kai said.

"It sounded like it was in here."

"Baby, why are you thinking about other things right now?" His voice turned husky. "Where were we?"

They resumed kissing, and Cress let out a shallow breath. Then she almost died when she heard the unbuckling of a belt and a few low groans—not from Levana this time. Cress's entire body turned clammy. No, no, no. She could not do this. She could not sit here in a closet with a nearly dead Thorne on her lap while Kai did stars knows what—no, she knew _exactly_ what, which made it worse—with his much older, possibly cover girlfriend. The noises were already too much, but knowing that it could be totally fake made it even worse. Thorne had been perfectly capable of going through with the exact same thing to get to know Cress, so why wouldn't Kai be the same? These kinds of romps were probably daily occurrences for the two old friends. Did no one have any shame anymore?

"Ah, ah, wait, wait," Kai said, sounding breathless. The rustling and kissing stopped. "I'm not feeling so great either, suddenly. My stomach is all bubbly."

"Are you sure it's not just nerves?"

"Do I ever get nervous when we do this?" Another kiss.

Cress gagged.

"But it's been so long since we've been alone, Kai."

"I know but…I think I'm coming down with whatever Torin has."

"You can't! We have a date planned."

Kai gave a low groan. "Oh stars. My stomach is really kicking. Oh my stars. Can you see if Torin's done with the bathroom yet?"

Levana made a disgusted noise. "Fine. But if you're going to be sick, I think I better leave."

"Aw, baby…" But then he moaned loudly, more like the way Thorne had been moaning in the bathroom.

"Ew, ew, ew." Heels clacked out of the room.

An alarm sounded in the apartment, and Cress pulled out Kai's phone. It was just Levana running about the apartment and triggering an indoor alarm.

"Quick, give me my phone," Kai whispered, extending a hand through the closet. "I can tell she's going to leave soon, just hang in there."

She tossed it through the door. Then she heard Kai buckle his belt and hurry after Levana, shouting about the stupid security system. He shut the door to his bedroom behind him. Oh, she wanted to kill him just as much as she wanted to kill Thorne.

"Cress."

Her name on Thorne's lips was barely even a whisper.

Against her better judgement, she brushed his hair away from his sweaty forehead. His hand came up to find hers. She hated it when his touch still sent a tingle down her spine.

This was not the person she thought she knew. This was a stranger. Someone who had gotten her kidnapped, hurt, hunted. Someone who thought of her as nothing but a conquest.

"I'm...sorry..."

Cress was thankful no one could see her tears in the dark.


	25. Chapter 25

Minutes turned to hours.

Hours to days.

Or maybe days were hours and hours were minutes.

All Thorne knew was that he couldn't stay awake. He vaguely remembered a hot compress, being spoonfed some liquid, pain erupting over his thigh if he moved, and Cress. Cress was in his dreams but she was also there when he woke…unless that was part of the dream.

When Thorne woke long enough to open his eyes for more than a minute, he couldn't figure out where he was. He was in a bed of some sorts, that he could tell. He could make out a ceiling fan that spun at a low speed, a light breeze tickling his skin over the blanketing heat in the room. His body was so heavy, but not with sleep. He knew he had slept and slept and slept.

No, Thorne was sure he'd been drugged.

But…that didn't make any sense.

"Hello?"

His voice was hoarse. He wet his lips, felt a knot in his throat block a comfortable swallow. A drink was exactly what he needed to get up the will to move.

"Hello?" he called again. "Anyone there?"

When no one answered, he groaned. Guess he would need to do this on his own then.

He let out a deep breath and sat up to inspect the wound in his leg.

His torso only made it up a few inches before something jerked him back down. Thorne blinked heavily, trying to see in the dark room. At the same time, he gingerly moved his wrists. Something soft but sturdy held them in place.

_What the hell?_

Wasn't he at Kai's? Hadn't he made it? Wasn't he safe?

And yet…

He moved his uninjured leg.

Also tied down.

His heart rate ticked up a notch. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He wasn't at Kai's. He had dreamed all of it. Luisa and her team had caught him when he was still in the warehouse.

Thorne yanked at his restraints. They didn't give. He balled up his fists and pulled and pulled, but the silky material dug into his wrists. He swore. It was futile.

He laid his head back on the pillow (why did he have a _pillow_?), trying to come up with a rational explanation for what was happening to him. If only someone had left a light on. Then there might be a way for him to find something that he could use to break himself free.

He was still trying to squint his way through the dark when he made out footsteps from outside the room.

"Hello? Is anybody out there?"

He held his breath as the footsteps paused.

The door swung open. A light flickered on, forcing his eyes shut as he adjusted to the overwhelming brightness.

Feet padded toward him and his whole body tensed as they got closer. He blinked and blinked, eyes watering, until they fell on—

 _"_ _Cress?"_

It was Cress, but it wasn't.

"You're awake," she said.

"Did you cut your hair?"

It was a short pixie cut, dyed black. When she simply stared down at him, Thorne said, "Cress's…evil twin?"

Cress blinked impassively. "No, it's Cress."

"Thank the stars," Thorne said, eyes closing with relief. "I'm so glad you're okay." He relaxed a little, then remembered his binds. His eyes flew open to check out what was holding him down. His binds were…silky ties? He yanked again, but he was still stuck.

"What's going on? Did we get caught? Where are we?"

Cress glanced at the open doorway. Thorne followed her gaze but couldn't see anyone.

"We're at Mr. Huang's apartment."

"You mean Kai? Okay, that's what I thought."

She stalked towards the door without another word.

"Um, Cress? Can you untie me? Not sure what's…" He trailed off as she turned around, her face emotionless. "What's happening."

"I tied you up," she said.

An uncomfortable tingle worked its way down his spine. He laughed nervously. "Didn't know you were into that."

She huffed and turned on her heels, but he didn't miss the way a hint of red appeared on her cheeks. She left the room quickly.

Thorne squirmed against his restraints.

"Hey! Come back! Untie me! What the hell is happening?"

Cress returned a few moments later, a tablet in one hand and a box attached to electrodes in another.

Thorne gulped as she began attaching the electrodes to his hands. "What are those? What are you doing? I'm not following—"

"Please be quiet," Cress said, reaching for the buttons on his shirt.

"Hey!" he said as Cress began unbuttoning him. It wasn't even his shirt. It was some linen button up short-sleeved thing that he would never wear. But Cress had attached the electrodes to his chest and taken a seat on the bed next to him before he could think twice about it.

"Untie me," he said again.

"I recommend not moving too much. It took a long time to patch up your wound and you'll still need a few more days before it's safe to walk on it. Now, I have some questions for you."

Thorne glanced at his leg, still reeling from her cool and professional tone. He didn't need to be tied down for his wound to heal. He swallowed hard. "Cress, what are you doing? Did you…drug me?"

Cress attached the machine to her tablet's port. "You were administered a lot of medicine to keep you sedated while you went through the worst of your pain. Side effects include drowsiness."

"Side effects…wait, how did you get that medicine? Where's Kai?"

"Mr. Huang is currently detained."

"Where? What's happening with Cinder? With Iko?"

Cress typed something on her tablet. "Those are all questions I'm expecting you to answer," she murmured. A light flickered red on the square machine connected to the electrodes and her tablet. It hummed to life.

"You're checking my vitals, right?" he said. "With this machine?"

"This machine?" She gave him a cursory glance. "No, it's a lie detector. A bit old fashioned compared to what they have on the markets these days, but it'll do."

"A lie detector? What? Does Kai know you're using this? Where is he?"

She ignored his questions, but he was getting used to that. His pulse was not. He squirmed against his binds with a grunt.

"There's no use in struggling. The machine has shock pads attached to them. Attached to _you_. I've altered it so not only will it detect lies, but bullshit."

Thorne swallowed. "Uh, bullshit? How can it detect that?"

Cress lifted a stylus off the tablet and showed him the screen. She wouldn't look him in the eye though. "See this button? If I press it, you get shocked. Bullshit includes, to be specific, not answering questions, avoidance, smooth talking. Things like that. If you cooperate, there's no need to be afraid."

"Afraid? Cress, I'm not afraid. I just want to know what's _going on_. One minute I've made it to Kai's and you guys are helping me and now you've tied me to a bed with a shock machine attached to me? What changed?"

"What changed," she said coolly, returning the tablet to her lap, "is that I'm finally going to get the answers I deserve."

A weight dropped in his stomach. "Cress…" he tried more softly, "I'm sorry that I hurt you. More than you'll know. I'll answer any questions you have. Just untie me and we can talk."

Cress stared unblinkingly at her tablet. "First question. Were you aware that Kai Huang was also working undercover?"

Thorne blinked, then had to laugh. "Kai's not a spy."

A jolt went through his palms. "Hey! Ow! What the hell?"

"I said no bullshit, Mr. Thorne."

"Mr. Thorne...? Cress, no."

The machine zapped him again. He gasped, but more out of shock than pain. It was unpleasant, but clearly on a low setting and not entirely untolerable. Nothing like what Cinder's crew did. "Get these things off me," he growled anyway.

"Answer the questions and it won't do that. Did you know Kai was involved in illicit activity?"

Thorne slammed his head back on his pillow in frustration. "No, okay? I didn't."

He waited to get shocked again, but it didn't come.

"Hmm," was all Cress said.

"Is he? Does he work for Cinder?"

"Let's focus on you. How long have _you_ worked for Cinder?"

"I didn't know I was working for her."

Cress moved her stylus.

"Wait! Really, I didn't. Will you at least let me answer properly before you think I'm bullshitting you?"

Her hand paused. "Go on."

He let out a deep breath. "I was going to tell you…when it was a good time. It never felt…right." He rushed on when her hand moved again. "I was hired while I was abroad, but not by Cinder. I didn't know exactly who hired me—in my line of work, there's a lot of shady people. What matters to me is whether my bank account goes up at the end of the day or not."

"How long ago where you hired?"

"For this project…only a few months ago."

Cress bit her lip. "How did you make it seem like you'd worked at Satellite Technologies as a consultant for so long?"

He looked up at the ceiling. "Lying is easier if you twist partial truths and add in a heavy dose of confidence. Plus, the folks who hired me said Lewis Brimm had been bought. He would back up my story if Jerry ever got in touch. So would Emily and Laaj. The only person we had to worry about was you."

Cress zapped him.

"Ow! That was the truth."

She bit on her lip again, her eyes steely. "So you were sent to, what? Distract me? You didn't you think I would look you up?"

Thorne made out the small tremble in her hand and softened a little. "Did you?"

He swore when the shock pads zapped him. "Aces, okay, yeah there was a risk that you would, but I researched you a lot before to get your profile. We hoped you'd think it unethical. Especially if you were"—he swallowed but kept his eyes fixed on Cress, waiting for her reaction—"you know, interested in me."

She stayed frozen to her spot, eyes glued to her tablet.

"Cress…"

"So your job was to distract me?"

He let out a frustrated breath. "No, my job was to get information out of you. Get to know you, charm you, that sort of thing."

"Seduce me."

"No, not exactly—"

"How did you know that I would be interested in you? You may be cute but all women have different tastes. How did you know I'd fall for—open up to you?"

He was silent for too long, apparently, because Cress zapped him again. He barely flinched. He preferred to take the shocks over hurting her even more. Because that was this was about. Cress didn't care so much about his involvement in the grander scheme of things. What mattered was that he'd hurt her. But he'd _tried_ to stop it. _Tried_ to get out of it. He'd—

"Ow, Cress, seriously!"

"Answer. The. Question. How did you know I'd be interested in you?"

She finally met his eyes. Thorne pulled at his binds. He wanted to reach out to her, take her hand, kiss his apologies up her jaw until she forgave him. But all he could do was try to push away his regret. His shame.

"I knew you were lonely and…and I'm irresistible," he said quietly. "What else did I need to know?"

When he dared look at her, Cress's hands shook as she held her tablet, her eyes back on the screen. "So that's what you do for a living? Seduce women into giving you information? What was your plan? Make me come apart and then your sweet nothings in bed turn to questions about a project?"

"No!" He yanked on the stupid silky ties. Did they have steel threaded inside them? "I've never...um, gotten that far with anyone. I'm not going to trade my body for secrets. I just...wine and dine, mostly."

This time, the jolt hit him straight in the chest.

"That was the truth," he panted. "Not bullshit."

"It's despicable, that's what it is," Cress said, anger flaring in her eyes.

"It's not what you think. Not exactly. Yes, I have a certain skillset and I'm hired to make women tell me their deepest secrets. But it wasn't like that this time, Cress. That night at my apartment was all me. It's been all me since Sybil Mira tried to kill us. Okay, maybe a few days after that. After the zoo." He tried to remember when exactly he'd been sure that he was falling for Cress. "Yeah, after the zoo. Remember that day, Cress? Remember— _arrgh_!"

"That's enough nostalgia for now," Cress said, her lips white, her gaze still on her tablet. "What's interesting, Mr. Thorne, is how much information one really can find out about someone if one bothers to look. In your case, should you return to this business one day, you might want to tell your employers that all it takes is a half hour of circumventing security shields to find the real data—shields which are easily breakable by someone like me. You see, while you've been sleeping I've pulled up every piece of data I could find about you. Every job you've pulled, every person who's paid you. I have your social security number—and two others you used while abroad—your family's contact information, your bank accounts in the Caribbean, even your college transcript." She tsked. "You weren't lying about doing terrible in school."

Her off-handed comment stung, even if he could have cared less about his college grades. So, she had everything. His identity. His money.

He was ruined.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," she said. "Did you know Kai was a spy?"

The entire idea was ludicrous. "No."

"Were you working with Kai?"

"No."

"Did you know Cinder was involved?"

"No."

She bit her lip. "Do you know where they've taken Iko?"

"No."

"Do you know what their plans are for her?"

"Cress, can we…okay! Okay, I'll answer. No, I'm not sure. World domination is the vibe I got from them, I'll tell you that."

"Are you still loyal to your employers?"

He grimaced. "Considering they tried to murder me, that's a hard no."

Her brow furrowed as she studied the graph on her tablet. "Did anyone follow you here?"

He sighed. "I don't know. Luisa and Cinder are still alive, that's for sure. How many days have I been here?"

To his surprise, she answered. "Three."

"Well it's a good sign if no one's come here yet. Maybe they're preoccupied with Iko. Listen, Cress, I didn't know how big this was. I knew it was a bigger job than usual—I mean, they offered me over a million bucks for it—but I didn't know the project was so dangerous, and I didn't want to hurt you—"

A series of zapping shut him up. His chest hurt, but not from the shocks.

Cress unplugged the tablet from the machine.

"You forgot a question," he said softly.

Cress began removing the electrodes. After a few moments, she murmured, "Which one?"

"If I fell in love with you."

Cress's hand froze on his chest. He waited for her to look at him but she ripped the last electrode off instead. "I'm done with questioning. I'm going to analyze the results, and pending my safety, you may be released."

She gathered her equipment and got up from the bed.

"No! Cress! Wait!" He strained against his binds. "Ask me if I changed my mind! If I told them to go fuck themselves and returned the money! If I cared about you more in the end! Ask me if I love you!"

She walked out of the room.

"Ask me!" he yelled.

The door shut behind her.

"Because I do," he said feebly, his head falling back against the pillow.

* * *

Cress sat down at Kai's long kitchen table to run the data she'd gotten off Thorne's answers. Her whole body was trembling and she was just about to burst into tears, but at least she had kept her cool in front of Thorne. Her hands shook over her computer, which she now plugged into the tablet. She was relieved to be hacking on her own terms again, getting into everything she possibly could and setting up new shields and firewalls for anyone who might try to hinder what she was doing.

She would not be fooled again.

Kai stalked into the room. "Can I go see him now?"

She took a steadying breath to collect herself. "No. Not yet."

"Was that really necessary?"

Cress barely looked at him. "If what you say about Iko is true, he could be brainwashed."

"So could you."

She glanced up. Kai's arm's were crossed. He was much more disheveled than she'd ever seen him, with his hair wild and his shirt unbuttoned at the top. The Beijing skyline glimmered behind him. They were getting on each other's nerves a bit, with neither of them having left the house in three days. Taking care of Thorne had been stressful too.

"I wasn't brainwashed," Cress said, returning to study Thorne's results. "Iko had only just been turned on when I escaped. With Thorne we can't be sure what happened."

"Let me go in and talk to him."

"You can talk to him when I decide that it's time to talk to him."

"What if he needs food? Water?"

"He'll be fine for a few more minutes."

"And if I go in there anyway?"

Cress's fingers paused. "Unfortunately for you, you were quite honest when you told me about your involvement. I've checked out everything there is to know about you and I have all of the information I need to incriminate you just as much as Thorne. You know this."

Kai's eyes narrowed. "And you know I won't stand to be blackmailed."

"So you've said," Cress said flippantly, her head cocking to look at a moment during her questioning when Thorne's heart rate had spiked dangerously high. "But I doubt you'd want all of your client's information leaking as well."

Kai pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Cress. "That's not going to happen."

Cress continued typing. "I've secured all the information in a time-sensitive file. Every week, it requires the password I've given it. If I fail to enter it, it will leak all the information. So if you kill me, you'll have a dead body on your hands along with exposure of everyone you've ever worked with."

Kai growled, looking very much like he wanted to pull the trigger.

"I recommend not threatening me, Mr. Huang."

He slowly lowered his weapon. "I helped you. I helped Thorne. I wish you would start seeing us as on the same team."

"If you wanted me on your team, you could have approached me in San Diego," Cress said. "You only helped me because you need me. Otherwise you wouldn't have come all the way out here looking for me. You need me to find Iko."

"Cress, we've been cooped up here for days. The research has to stop. My team is getting suspicious. _Levana_ is getting suspicious."

"Yes, we've talked about your so-called _girlfriend_. There are red-flags all over the place with that one."

Kai scrubbed his hands through his hair. "I know! She's an evil nut job! I'm looking into it! Just let me do my job."

"We've been over this," she murmured, her body feeling more like jello every moment she analyzed Thorne's answers. She had to stay strong. _Brave_. Even if she wanted to crumple up and wilt away. "Your time to do your job will come. But now…now we do things my way _."_


	26. Chapter 26

"Wake up, Thorne. Cress says we need to move."

Thorne startled as Kai yanked on his binds, pulling him out of a nightmarish nap. "Ow. Do you have to do that so hard?"

Kai ignored him, but he was used to that. Once his old buddy had realized that Thorne would live, he'd stopped being a welcoming host. Most degrading was how Kai backed up Cress every night when she insisted that he be tied down while they were sleeping.

 _"I don't trust you not to kill us in our sleep_ ," she'd said.

" _Or to escape_ ," Kai had said.

Flawed thinking on both their parts, because they didn't tie him up during the day. And Kai was just on Cress's side because she threatened to ruin them all and they both knew she could. Both feared she would.

Still, did they have to use silk ties every time?

"Still can't believe you're undercover," Thorne muttered as he shook out his newly-freed wrist. "All this time. All those random visits. You were just spying on me."

Kai clicked his tongue but didn't say anything as he worked on Thorne's left ankle.

"I mean, I know I'm nice to look at, but you could've just told me you were desperate to see me."

Kai pulled hard on the last tie.

"Thanks for the rug burn, buddy," Thorne said as he gingerly sat up.

His leg wasn't throbbing as much as it had the past couple days. Despite his anger at being tied up, he knew that all this resting was helping his wound to heal. And as much as he was pissed at Kai for his hostile attitude now, at least he'd bothered to patch Thorne up. It was nothing like the friendly welcome Thorne had expected. No, not at all. But Kai could've let him bleed to death outside the apartment. Especially now that Thorne knew Kai worked with a competing undercover organization.

"Let's get one thing straight," Kai said, getting to his feet. He pointed between the two of them. "You and I are not buddies. We are _enemies_."

"Oh, please. You didn't even know we were enemies until a few days ago. And I have nothing to do with that psycho organization except that they hired me for a consulting job. I can't help it if your ex is in charge and now your _real_ nemesis."

Kai growled. "Yeah, I guess that's what I get for believing my long-time friend would be honest about my ex _when I asked him about her_."

Thorne smirked at him. "I knew you weren't really mad at me. You're pissed because I lied about Cinder. Get over it. You lied to me for years."

He maneuvered his legs to the edge of the bed and made to grab his crutches, but Kai yanked one of them out of his grip and held it hostage. "I lied to you _necessarily_. About _me_. _My_ life. Not someone else's. You didn't have to make up information about Cinder. That had nothing to do with your cover."

"It does if I'm still living in Chicago according to my cover," Thorne said.

"You didn't have to tell me that she might still be interested in me and make me feel like shit."

He scoffed. "You didn't feel like _shit_. You were excited. Cocky, even, at the thought that you might still have a shot with the girl you brutally dumped years ago. You think Cinder's still into you? Ha. You deserve to be messed with. She cried herself to sleep for weeks after you left." Thorne yanked his crutch away from him. " _Weeks_."

There was a flicker of some emotion in Kai's eyes, only to be replaced with a simmering anger. "Don't act like you care about Cinder. Cress said you hadn't spoken to her in years either."

"But I was there when you left her, and that's what counts. We may have gone in different directions since then, but I never made her cry."

"Are you two done fighting?"

They both whirled to see Cress in the doorway, her face shadowed by the light in the hallway. Thorne's heart sped up like it did every time he'd seen her here in Kai's apartment—out of nerves, out of remorse, out of a dash of fear that hit him like a brick when he looked at the woman he loved.

"You're _both_ despicable people, in case you needed clarification," she said.

Thorne was having trouble getting used to her direct approach of late. He was used to her shyness and the lilt of awkwardness that had accompanied most of their encounters. It had taken him over a month to get her to loosen up around him only for him to screw it up so badly.

When he looked at her, all he could see was the irreparable damage he'd done. Damage that went deep, deeper than the roots of her now-black hair, practically taunting him from where he stood. He'd never really considered what happened to his targets once he left them behind and moved onto the next project. But he'd also never fallen in love with one before either.

"Yeah, we're both going to hell either way," he agreed, "so let's get this over with."

"Speak for yourself," Kai muttered.

Thorne crutched his way out of the bedroom, moving past Cress like it didn't hurt the way she still hadn't made eye contact once — didn't make eye contact now, either. At least it didn't hurt to _move_. The crutches were only precautionary. Without a proper doctor, no one knew exactly how long it would take for him to fully heal, so staying off his leg as much as possible was the most optimal solution.

Besides, the second he got in the real world he knew he'd have to run.

If he somehow managed to make it out of this alive, would that be his life from now on? Changing identities every few weeks, dingy hotels without proper registration, always looking over his shoulder? The thought alone was enough to make him wrinkle his nose. The bank account he'd set up for himself in the Cayman Islands had been to specifically avoid such a life and be able to retire comfortably.

But he'd dug his own grave, and he had a feeling he'd end up inside it soon enough.

He rubbed his brow as he sat at the kitchen table, uncomfortable with all the uncertainty that surrounded him, uncomfortable with the people around him, and uncomfortable that he was uncomfortable at all. Kai took a seat across from him.

Cress stood at the head. "I've managed to track down Iko's body. They're near Dalian." She turned her laptop and a map with a tracker blinked up at them.

Kai squinted. "That's Iko's exact location?"

"It's approximate."

Kai shook his head. "We can't move without exact coordinates, Cress."

She folded her arms and scowled. "Excuse me if I didn't have time to both make _and_ place a tracker on her. My life was in danger, you understand."

Thorne coughed. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're going to reclaim Iko for ourselves and then we'll shut her down." She put her hands on the table and leaned down. "Before I go into details, I want both of you to promise that the goal _is_ to shut her down."

"Can't promise that," Kai said immediately. "My loyalty is to my clients."

"Well, you better change it," Thorne said. "I'm with you, Cress."

He looked hopefully at Cress, like his loyalty might matter to her, but she ignored him. "I thought you might say that, Kai." She pulled up another tab on her computer and a picture of Kai among many other profiled photos came on the screen. "I'd like to remind you of our deal. You _will_ help me shut Iko down, and I _will_ get out of it alive, or I expose all of you. Clients included. Non-negotiable."

"That's my girl," Thorne said without thinking, then quickly coughed violently as though he never said anything. Despite her confident stance, he caught the way her hands trembled as she gripped her laptop, waiting for Kai to answer. Kai noticed it too, unfortunately.

Of all the things he'd learned about Cress since he'd met her, he knew she didn't enjoy being in the spotlight. She enjoyed praise for her work, but not the kind that made her stand up in front of others to receive it. And she was certainly not one to dole out commands when it came to anything not related to the latest tech advice.

"I suppose you leave me no choice," Kai said with a glance at Thorne.

Thorne gave him a sugary-sweet smile.

"But we're using my team for whatever the plan is," Kai added, drawing his attention back to Cress.

"What team?" Thorne said.

"His partner, Scarlet, and her task team."

"It's my task team too," Kai said. "Well, over here it is."

"I'm not trusting my life to your task team," Thorne huffed. "They'll shoot me in the back before I blink."

"You'd deserve it," Kai said.

"Never knew you to be so hostile," Thorne said with a pleasant smile. "Funny how times change even the gentlest of men."

Kai only scoffed. "I guess it only changes _gentle_ men, since you haven't change one bit. Still thinking only about yourself. Never of the greater good."

"The greater good?" Thorne let his mouth hang open as if he'd just discovered the world's biggest secret. "Oh…is _that_ what you're doing? Working undercover for Grindelwald?"

"Grindel…?" Kai trailed off, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Harry Potter reference," Cress squeaked.

"Thank you, Cress," Thorne said.

"Y-You've read those?" she asked.

He faced her, surprised she was addressing him. "Seen the movies."

"Can we focus, please?" Kai said. "If my team's going to be involved—which it is—I'll need every detail. Cress, you may be the best at tech and a prodigy, but I'm the best at planning tactics of the three of us. I'm lead, whatever we do."

Cress glanced at Thorne—well, at his chest, never meeting his eyes—as if she expected him to protest. Hell if he was going to say anything now. He didn't want to take the lead. He was happy to sit in the van with Cress whenever Kai and his team did whatever needed doing. Perhaps he could slip out then, too, when Cress was distracted by the mission.

"We can use your team," Cress conceded when Thorne didn't respond. "We'll need them." Cress sat shakily and turned the laptop back to face her. She typed something, then folded her hands officially. "Here's what I know: There's a big meeting in Dalian this weekend. Some sort of international summit for the world's most important business leaders."

"Dalian International," Kai supplied.

"Wonder who came up with that name," Thorne muttered.

"My father's company will have representatives there," Kai said.

"I know," Cress said. "And you are going to make sure that representative is _you_. Everything indicates that Cinder and her team will use Iko to some extent at the party. Perhaps they will unveil her as the newest technology and try to sell her to the highest bidder. Perhaps they will use her to overpower the other businessmen, I'm not sure. The point is, they have invites under cover names."

She turned the laptop again and Cinder's face appeared on the screen now, surrounded by a few other people he vaguely recognized from the warehouse. And then, surprisingly enough, the face of the beautiful A.I. body he'd carried with Aimery popped up too. But instead of calling her Iko, her name was listed as Darla M., Lunar Corp. Thorne took in Iko's face again, with its dark skin and mesmerizing eyes, shaking his head when he remembered that this was not a real person, but a robot.

"Kai, you will make sure you get an invitation and go as yourself."

"I'm not scheduled to go," he insisted. "My dad would find that suspicious. And I can't bring Scarlet as my date either. Levana would have a fit."

"Luckily for you," Cress said, typing again, "your girlfriend has an invite too." She turned the screen. A woman even more beautiful than Iko—and decidedly older, by at least ten years—blinked back at him from a gala.

"That's your _girlfriend_?" Thorne said, incredulous.

"Yes."

She looked like someone who wanted world domination, and Thorne thought he understood all the silky ties in Kai's closet now. He shuddered.

"You'll call Levana and tell her your schedule has cleared up," Cress said. She took a deep breath. "You'll go as her date. Mingle with all the right people and find out what's going on."

"But _Cinder_ is going to be there," he said.

"And she thinks you work for a big conglomerate. Your cover will be preserved, and when we're done with this you can go on your own way, with no one the wiser about your elicit side activities."

Kai sank back in his chair, running his hands nervously through his hair. "Look, I'm still investigating Levana. I haven't found anything concrete, but I think she's in on something sinister. If I take her with me, my cover might be blown with _her_."

"So, dump her when the night is over," Thorne said. "Tell her you're no longer into cougars."

"Stop." Cress's scathing tone made both the men close their mouths. "I'm assuming Levana, with her status, has a private jet?"

Kai nodded.

"Good. Kai, you'll arrange for your team to pose as baggage handlers and new airplane staff. That way we can keep an eye on her while we fly too. Has Levana met Scarlet?"

"No."

"Have her be your new personal assistant so she can attend they party too."

"Scarlet, my personal assistant?" Kai looked terrified. "Yeah, she'll love that."

"What about me?" Thorne said.

"Kai thinks Levana might know who you are, so…" Cress hesitated, then flushed a deep crimson. "You'll be traveling in the back of the plane with me. In the staff's quarters, where Levana would never go."

"Ah." That didn't sound so bad. Alone time with Cress. Maybe he could work his way up to civil conversation with her again. At the same time… "Seems like you guys have things under control, though. Probably no need for me to even go. I mean, what would I do there?"

"You're going," Cress said. "If only to make sure you don't escape before this is all done."

"Darling, if I were going to run, I would have run. Your trigger finger on that mouse works whether I'm here or not here."

"You'll be our backup in case something goes wrong with Kai. Now, that's my general plan."

Aces, this wasn't a plan. This was a general outline of _nothing_.

"I'll leave it to the two of you _spies_ to figure out the details of how you'll obtain Iko to bring her back to me so I can disable her. Go." She sat there, waiting, and both Thorne and Kai jumped to clear their throats.

"Right…"

"Okay…"

"What do we know, uh—"

"Maybe we should start with—"

It was going to be another long night.


	27. Chapter 27

Kai's partner, Scarlet, was trickier to find information about.

All her records indicated that she was indeed called Scarlet—Scarlet _Benoit,_ apparently—and was from a small town in France called Rieux. Frustratingly, Cress hadn't been able to piece together how she'd ended up working with Kai, but it looked like she was more of a consultant rather than a member. Her bank account was filled with money from another bank account she had traced back to Kai himself.

For all intents and purposes, Scarlet pulled off Kai's dirty work. Despite the way Kai liked to brandish his gun like a pretend badass, she couldn't find much of death tied to his records and dealings. Only in payments, and those were to Scarlet. Scarlet was the guns, and there was a trail of bloody bodies following the so-called _Firework_ —or so she was known on the streets thanks to her bright red hair and her signature matching hoodie. Cress wondered if she liked wearing it because it matched her name or masked all the blood from her victims.

She had temporarily frozen both their bank accounts as leverage, a move which had seemed obvious at the time, but Scarlet was not willing to participate in their mission without payment.

Hands fisted on her hips, she glared at the somewhat professional outfit that Kai had laid out for her. "I'm not wearing that skimpy outfit unless you give me half my share upfront."

"I _can't_ ," Kai said, running a hand through his hair. He shot an annoyed look at Cress. " _She_ froze all our assets."

"I did not freeze all of them," Cress said. "I moved the money we need for the mission into a secured account that I monitor, to make sure you all stay on task."

Scarlet crossed her arms. "I'm not afraid of you, hacker. All my family is dead. I've got nothing to lose."

Cress shrugged, but a bead of sweat dripped down her back. She didn't like Scarlet much, as she was much more intimidating than Cress would admit. She tried to keep the tremble out of her voice. "You're linked to Kai, so if you don't cooperate, you both lose."

"Please, Scarlet." Kai held up the outfit. "It's not so bad, and it's only for one plane ride. We've been tracking this project for too long. Let's finish this."

Scarlet glared at him. "I want my money."

Thorne took the outfit from Kai. "I wouldn't want to wear this either. It really sends the wrong message about Kai's intentions with his 'personal assistant.'" He wrinkled his nose. "It screams _Hit Me Baby One More Time_. But then again, you have silk ties that you probably use with your kinky, evil, maybe-girlfriend."

His comment earned him a punch from both Kai and Scarlet.

" _Ow_." He rubbed his arms with a scowl. "Watch the goods. I'm only just recovering."

"We can lose this joker too," Scarlet said with a huff.

Cress ran to Kai's closet and threw it open. "Scarlet, wear whatever you want. Kai's assistant doesn't have to be a stereotypical anything. Here, you can even wear one of Kai's suits if you want. Just not that hoodie."

"I work best in my hoodie."

"And I work best when I'm not constantly threatened," Thorne said, "but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do."

No one paid him any attention.

Cress regarded the three of them tremulously. _This had to work._

"I—I've had enough of all of you," she said, then marched toward the door. "I'll just get to work on following through on my threats then, since you all think I'm bluffing."

Kai ran ahead of her, blocking her from leaving.

"Get of my way," she stammered to his shoes.

He bent his head to meet her eye, his hands clasped together. "Scarlet will come around, Cress, please. We just have to work out the kinks."

"Not the kind of kinks Kai enjoys," Thorne said.

"Oh please, as if you've never tried—"

"ENOUGH!"

Scarlet stomped forward and pushed Cress out of the way. She grabbed Kai by the shirt collar and brought his face an inch to hers. "I will help you with this mission only because you've been a consistent benefactor. If you even _think_ to cross me…" Her nostrils flared as she trailed off and her eyes flickered to Cress and then back to Kai. "There are worse things that can happen to you than what some girl can release with a computer."

Kai blinked. "You know I'm good for the money. You know me."

"Do I?" Scarlet released him. "I didn't know what shady operation you had going on here, blackmailing me to do your work."

" _Cress_ is blackmailing everyone. I didn't expect everything to escalate."

"Well, it's escalated. And you better watch your back, Kai Huang." She took out her gun. "You all better watch your back—even you, hacker. The thing about fireworks, is they can do a lot of damage if set off at the wrong time."

And with that, stormed back over to where Thorne was and yanked the outfit off his bed. "Note that my price just doubled."

* * *

Hiding on the plane was a harder feat than Cress had imagined. Cress had pictured one of those fancy, international private jets that she saw on TV. Of course, TV was always grander than even her own fantasies, and so, apparently, were the planes on TV. Levana's jet wasn't exactly a two-seater, but it only had one main cabin and a small space in the back for staff.

Cress and Thorne arrived early, since they weren't supposed to be part of the crew. Kai was worried Levana could recognize either of them if she was working somehow behind the scenes, which he was 50% sure of. Neither Cress nor Thorne liked that probability, so they'd snuck on the plane with one other member of Levana's new 'staff'—Kai and Scarlet's crew—before Levana's limo could show up. Kai, Scarlet, and another member of the crew posing as the baggage handler were all arriving with her.

When Cress and Thorne got on the plane, they both exchanged a look, knowing that the potential to be found was high. But she looked away just as quickly. She had been training herself this week to avoid eye contact, to not stare at him like she used to.

To not crave him with every fiber of her being.

Not looking at him helped a little. Thorne took off down the aisle ahead of her, and she was relieved to follow him for once. Taking the lead this past week and acting tougher than she was made her energy drain. She'd barely slept while at Kai's, always afraid that he or Thorne might murder her in her sleep, or that she'd wake to find herself back in her warehouse cell. Her all-nighters at Satellite Technologies had taught her how to work under pressure and no sleep, but not this kind of pressure for her life. She wanted someone to hold her close and rock her to sleep, and she wanted to wake up safe again.

As she followed Thorne down the aisle, she realized she'd probably have to spend most of this two-hour flight in close proximity with him, whereas she'd managed to avoid him for the most part while at Kai's. _It'll be over soon_ , she tried to tell herself, her heart panging as her eyes trailed his flawless body. He was still using one crutch to support his bad leg, and every time he leaned on it, his tshirt rucked up a little.

It was enough to send vivid memories coursing through her of the night they'd been captured by Jerrico and his men—by _Thorne's_ men. She could still feel the taste of his lips on her mouth, the way he'd trailed kisses up her bare back, his body pinning her to the mattress, possessive and needy and full of love.

She shook her head.

Wanted to kick herself.

Thorne wasn't full of love.

He was only full of what he'd made her believe, tricked her into feeling. And now she was stuck on a plane in China with him, trying to hang onto her last shred of sanity and dignity in front of the man who had been paid to seduce her.

"Cress?"

Her eyes snapped up to him involuntarily. He was looking at her with concern, his body turned as though he'd been waiting for her.

She looked down. "Hmm?"

"You look lost. Have you been on a plane before?"

She bristled. "Of course. You guys got me to China, didn't you?"

She heard his frustrated breath, but his voice came out dejected: "I wish you wouldn't keep saying 'you guys.' You know I had nothing to do with that."

"Nothing?"

"Okay, you know what I mean. I didn't know they would _attack us_ —

She huffed and stalked past him. "We can sit in these crew jumpseats."

She buckled herself in, the huge straps coming over her arms and smushing her.

He hobbled over and sat in one of the seats, but didn't buckle himself in. "We've got a while until we take off. You might as well relax." He leaned his crutch against the wall and sighed. "Cress, I've been meaning to talk to you."

Cress took out her headphones and shoved them in her ears before he could say another word.

She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

* * *

Cress wasn't actually listening to music.

Something about Thorne's presence beside her kept all of her muscles taut, like she had to be on high alert. He had respected her wish for quiet and was tracing shapes onto his thigh with one finger, his shoulders slumped in his jumpseat.

Take-off had been rocky and turbulence kept the plane bumping along, so he hadn't bothered removing his seatbelt either. Cress gripped one of the criss-crossed straps with one hand but kept a neutral face, unwilling to show that the flight was making her nervous.

Or maybe it was the company.

When the plane finally evened out and a full ten minutes went by without turbulence, she let out a long breath. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Thorne's head swivel at the noise, but she kept her face forward and tapped her foot to an invisible beat. She counted the seconds and wished she'd chosen music after all. She could get lost in a tune as much as she could get lost in her own imagination, and the two of them together were a wonderful combination to escape. But if she couldn't hear what was going on, how would she know if they were danger?

She could hear Kai and Levana bickering, which shot bouts of nervous energy through her. They were so close to them—too close.

"I want my drinks _now_ ," Levana said.

"The Captain hasn't turned off the fasten seatbelt sign yet," Kai said.

"That's a precaution for ordinary fliers, not the elite."

"Relax, baby. I'm sure they'll be around soon." He called out loudly—too loudly, to not be obvious, but then again, Cress knew what was going on behind the scenes. "Can anyone bring us some drinks?"

Thorne sat up straight in his chair, listening intently.

The hum of the engines answered Kai's call.

"Where is your personal assistant?" Levana said. "She can get them."

"Um, yeah—Scarlet! I mean, uh, Miss Benoit! Can we get some drinks?"

But apparently, Scarlet was busy doing something else, because after a time, Levana said, "I've had it with this crew! They've been incompetent since the time they stepped foot on my plane. They're all getting fired the second we land in Dalian. And if my regular crew thinks they can get away with offering a lackluster substitution while they're busy, I'm revoking personal time off for anyone who works for me."

Kai murmured something, but it was lost in the drone of the engine as he lowered his voice.

Luckily, Levana did not lower hers. "Stop telling me to calm down! If they won't come to me, I will go to them and force them to get off their lazy asses."

Kai sounded frantic. "No—baby, please—don't go back there. The staff is in the front. In the—"

" _Don't_ tell me what to do."

Cress realized with wide eyes that Levana was heading to the back, where she and Thorne were sitting. He was warning them. Thorne sprang to his feet and ripped a headphone out of Cress's ear.

" _Ow_."

"Get up," he hissed. "Levana's coming. Get in the bathroom!"

Cress didn't need to be told twice.

She scurried into the bathroom and just as she was shutting the door, Thorne's hand came to halt the door. "Move," he said, and though she struggled to shut it against this fingers, he still managed to slide in. Then the door slammed shut with a bang, and Thorne was locking it with trembling fingers—no, she must have imagined that. Thorne hadn't even trembled when Sybil Mira had shot at them.

He kept his hand on the latch to open the door, and it dawned on Cress why: Bathroom doors could be opened from the outside on planes in case the flight attendants needed to assist someone. With the way his back was turned to her, Cress's only option was to straddle the toilet to avoid touching him, and her heart pulsed in her ears as she took in their proximity. But those nerves were nothing compared to how her whole body froze up in panic when Levana rapped on the door.

"Open up!" she said.

Thorne glanced over his shoulder at Cress and wrinkled his nose. "I'm on the crapper," he said in a more high-pitched voice than usual.

Cress could practically see Levana's disgusted face. " _Ew!_ "

"You understand why I can't open up, ma'am."

"We need drinks. Now! Your staff is sitting around doing nothing."

"I'm sure someone else will be glad to help you, ma'am."

"You're the purser."

Thorne paused. His shoulders drew up, like he was thinking. He shifted uncomfortably off his injured leg, leaning heavily on his one crutch. "Unfortunately there's nothing I can do at the moment. You see…I must have eaten something rotten this morning. It's like a bomb has gone off in here."

Levana screeched outside the door.

"Better to move away, ma'am. The smell will probably seep into the corridor soon."

"Why you—"

"Oh stars!" Thorne clutched his stomach, but Cress caught a glimpse of his devilish grin. "It's hitting hard, it's—" He brought his hands up to his mouth and blew air into them. The result was a disgusting sound that was…a little too convincing.

"I'm reporting you!" Levana shrieked.

"For having...explosive diarrhea?" He continued blowing into his hands until the distinct sound of Levana clomping away on her heels could be heard. Thorne slumped against the door, finally turning around to face Cress. He looked like he might pass out.

"Can you move?" he whispered.

"Move…where?"

"I need to sit."

Her eyes popped. "You are _not_ going to the bathroom in here!"

He gestured at his crutch. "Just need to sit."

"Oh…um…" They played a precarious dance of side-stepping one another and still brushing against each other as Thorne took her spot and Cress crammed herself against the door. Thorne lowered the toilet lid and sat down on top of it.

Cress couldn't withhold her disgust. "I can't believe you're sitting on that. You're probably going to get some sort of hepatitis just by touching it."

Thorne looked just as disturbed. "I'm trying not to think about it."

He leaned his crutch in a corner, then groaned and stretched his legs, his feet landing on either side of Cress's right leg. She squirmed and tried to make herself smaller, but it was no use.

When he shifted again, she let out a squeak.

" _I_ don't have hepatitis," Thorne said finally, sounding a little offended.

"That's not—I don't—"

"I know."

She finally looked down at him. He wore a grimace.

"You might as well get comfortable. We're going to be in here for the remainder of the flight."

"We can't be!"

"If we leave, Levana might come find us again. Both of us. Why do you think I forced myself into the same bathroom as you?"

"Because…"

 _Because you're trying to be near me. Because you're trying to trick me into forgiving you. Because you won't leave alone. Because you_ still _love me._

 _No, Cress,_ still _implies_ did before _. He did not. Never had._

"There's no way to get comfortable in here," she said.

He patted his lap.

She huffed in indignation. "In your dreams."

"No, in my dreams we make up and spend the remainder of the flight joining the mile-high club."

She guffawed, her jaw dropping as much as her eyes flashed. "You're disgusting."

"Because I still want you or because of the bathroom?"

"Both."

He sighed and went silent, picking at the padding of his crutch. Cress turned a few times and shifted her weight, still practically glued to the door. She turned on the sink water, washed her hands. Blew her nose with the free tissues. Tried the lotion. Washed her hands again when she didn't like it. Held down the dumb handle when the water wouldn't drain, then had to wash her hands again.

"Cress…"

Thorne's voice had dropped an octave, and it took on the soothing quality she had gotten used to around him.

"Don't talk to me," she said.

"I have to," he said, getting up. He towered over her, and even though he hadn't moved closer to her at all, he was close enough to kiss her. She stared at his feet.

"You don't have respond. But I need you to hear me out."

Her lip trembled. "I don't care what you need."

"I know."

She snuck a glance at him as he sat back down.

"I'm not expecting you to forgive me," he said, scrubbing a hand down his face and finally propping his elbows on his knees. It put him eye-level with her stomach, and for the briefest moment she imagined him leaning forward and resting his forehead against her, her hands running through his hair. She swallowed and tried not to look at him.

"But here's what really happened from my perspective," he continued. "I was never good at much in school. In college, whatever. My parents said I wasn't applying myself, and they were right. I just didn't care, honestly, about wasting time doing homework when I could be having fun. I was interested in getting away from my parents and finally had that chance in college. Still, it was more of the same. Attendance policies, massive homework, essays about aces knows what, credits of boring prerequisites." He sighed. "I didn't care. I went to college only because it was what was expected of me."

"Your grades _were_ abysmal."

"As you've pointed out. I barely graduated. But, as I told you—truthfully—when I apply myself, I get things done."

"Like at Northwestern."

He seemed to perk up. "You didn't see in your hacking that my MBA was fake?"

She had not, and the thought that she'd missed that detail made her even more angry about the situation. "No, I—" She shut her jaw. She was not supposed to be engaging in conversation with him.

"I only got that because Satellite Technologies likes local applicants. The organization set it up for me, and even though I did officially work as a consultant for Satellite Technologies, most of the time I was flying to other cities was dictated by the organization that hired me. Leads on Code Name Lunar Gift, as they called the project. It's why your portfolio had a moon on it. All I knew about it, really, was that it had something to do with moon rocks. But let me backtrack a sec. I was telling you how I get things done when I apply myself."

He paused, as if waiting for her to acknowledge him, then plowed on.

"I learned early on that I'm good at making people feel comfortable. I have a way with words. I didn't have trouble persuading people to see things my way. To do the things I wanted. I little bullshit here, a lot of charm there—bam, putty in my hands." He raised his eyes to look at her and Cress drew away sharply. She wouldn't let him see that she'd been staring at him intently.

"Before you get the wrong idea, when I say 'putty in my hands,' I don't mean sex. It's never been about that. I mean business transactions. At a young age, that was convincing people to give me their homework so I wouldn't have to do it myself. As I got older, it meant getting out of parking tickets, getting free upgrades on flights, talking the Dean into letting me out of suspension, etc."

"How clever of you," she said to the wall.

"Turns out it's a valuable skill. I went abroad after college and that's where I found my calling. Traveling the world and having time to think somehow gives you a different perspective. I didn't need to waste my time with entry-level jobs or an advanced degree. I put my skills into a marketable package, met a few of the wrong sorts of people around the world, and got started. Sure, I had to do work, but the perks were worth it. And since I was the one calling the shots, I didn't mind. I'd always wanted to be my own boss, and by the time I got a call from Satellite Technologies, I knew a long-term project would be exactly what would get me set for life."

Cress knew they had offered him a lot of money, and despite her high salary, couldn't imagine receiving that sum all at once. Or even over a period of two years.

"I know you think I seduce people for a living, but that's not it at all. I've never slept with a woman because of money, and I've never slept with a client for a job." Cress finally looked at him. He grimaced. "I may have kissed one or two of them, here or there, but it was necessary."

"Su-ure."

"What can I say? I'm a people pleaser, and people respond to my enigmatic charm. Sometimes they responded a little too strongly, but I was quick to untangle myself. I may have stooped low to extract information on my many occasions, but that's not how I did it."

She huffed.

"What happened with you was different, Cress." He put his face in his hands. "I didn't want to fall in love with you. Love isn't in the cards for someone like me. Aces, _dating_ has never even been in the cards with me."

"You just make them believe it is."

" _Would you let me_ —" He unburied his face, exasperated. "That is not what I did with you, Cress. I was perfectly fine getting to know you—as a _colleague_ —for the first several weeks to gain your trust. Sure, you were cute, but so many women are. It was nothing I couldn't handle. From our first meeting, I knew you had a crush on me."

"I did not."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Cress crossed her arms. "You're not helping your case."

"What case? You're not going to forgive me, so I might as well say what I want to say for once, instead of hiding everything I really think or feel with smooth lines and smarmy looks."

He waited again, like he still expected her to join the conversation. When she didn't say anything, he sighed. "When we got attacked the first time, I knew something was wrong. I've always carried a gun as a precaution during my meetings with employers—simple precaution when dealing with shady people—but I've never actively felt threatened. I thought my employers were on my side when they agreed to pay for a bodyguard. Obviously, the most important part of this deal was keeping you safe, because without you, how would we solve the project? I never _in a million years_ expected them to attack and kidnap us— _you_."

He looked ashamed now, staring down at his hands. "But they did because of me. If I had managed to keep things professional, this never would have happened. That's _really_ why you should hate me. I called the whole thing off. Got out of the deal. I gave all the money back and basically told them off, saying that it was too dangerous and this wasn't what I signed up for. But really I quit because of the night we spent together. I was already falling for you before then, just couldn't admit it to myself. But after we escaped the restaurant and you….you asked me to _stay_ …"

He looked up and this time, Cress couldn't break eye contact. She remembered that night vividly. The way he'd stumbled into her room, looking drunk at the sight of her, the way he'd held her close all night.

"You had your big, beautiful eyes all wide and vulnerable and trusting me and—" Thorne swallowed. "I knew I was a goner. I knew, for once, I wanted something more than what I had. I wanted _you_. Not just for a night, Cress. And I tried to talk myself out of it, tried to talk both of us out of it."

She remembered that.

" _We work together_ ," he'd said. He's paused in her doorway, torn.

"But I ended up just convincing myself to go for it. And then, spending the night with you…" He reached of her but dropped his hand quickly. "That morning, I knew. Knew I wanted out. Knew the whole project wasn't worth it. I started devising a plan to get out of it as quickly as I could. I figured maximum, they'd come after me. But never after you, Cress. You were the prize. They wouldn't touch you."

She finally looked away. "Well, they did and here we are. It doesn't matter that you fell in love. You lied to me about _everything_."

"It matters to me," Thorne said quietly. "I've never been in love before. And I was going to tell you. I was coming up with a plan."

She wanted to ask more, but all she got out was, "Why should I believe anything you say?"

The plane shook violently and sent Cress skittering into Thorne. They both tried to steady her, but the plane kept hitting turbulence, sending the tissue box flying on the floor and the droplets of water in the basin splashing out. Thorne's crutch hit him in the face.

The plane tipped to the left. Cress slammed into the door. It rocked again; she slammed into Thorne.

"You're going to hurt yourself," he said.

Another violent rock of the plane and she hit the door again, this time ripping up her elbow on the door latch. Back and forth and back and forth until Thorne finally grabbed her and placed her firmly on his lap.

The plane jumped and she accidentally kicked Thorne in his injured leg. He hissed, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him.

"Let go of me."

"I'm not going to do anything," he said firmly. "But I will keep you safe."

The plane swooped some more, and though Cress was furious at him for holding her down, it did keep her from being thrown around like a ragdoll. Her breakfast threatened to spill out of her and she pressed her eyes shut, trying to block out everything but Thorne's voice in her ear.

"If you only believe one thing, believe that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter brought to you by everyone's favorite trope: being stuck together in tiny spaces.
> 
> Thorne did some bad things...think Cress should forgive him anyway?


End file.
